


Forgotten; Worshipped

by TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag



Series: Forgotten; Worshipped, Fic and More [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Beauty - Freeform, Curses, Dubious Consent, Dubious Ethics, Dubious Morality, Goddesses, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Jealousy, Love at First Sight, M/M, Most Beautiful Mortal, Muses, Mutual Pining, One-Sided Attraction, Pining, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-01-08 07:06:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 61
Words: 261,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12249420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag/pseuds/TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag
Summary: The stifled sobs of one attracts the attention of another. In this case two peculiar beings find each other due to one's crying. The most beautiful being of any realm, a mortal, who is worshipped for his beauty, and a god who has been forgotten by the people and outcast. Promises are made, but Fate's loom weaves a tale with many conflicts for these two to face. Whether they will overcome them, and overcome them together? Only Time can tell.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Deutsch available: [Vergessen; Verehrt ('Forgotten; Worshipped', translated/übersetzt)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14838080) by [TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag/pseuds/TheAlwaysUsedTeaBag)



Stifled sobs pierced the silent night's air from within a palace's walls. A man of pristine beauty sat alone in his room that was his prison, atop his bed made of the softest material, everything in the room colourful and beautiful. There were no mirrors within the palace walls and every mirror brought into it was destroyed by an invisible force. This man was given all he ever desired, except for his freedom, which he desired most above all else. But they wouldn't give him this freedom he yearned for, in fear that he would leave them and they wouldn't be able to look upon his fine beauty each day, that they would lose him and thus the beauty he carried with him everywhere he went. A hundred servants were tasked to make his life more comfortable than even a god's, in which they succeeded well, much to the displeasure of both the man and of the gods themselves, or at least those who heard of him. Gods of all kinds became jealous of this man who was being worshipped for his beauty more than these people worshipped their gods, which they couldn't simply allow.

Many a god, fed up with the lack of worship directed towards them by the mortals of this kingdom, attempted to make their way to the palace in which the man was held prisoner in an attempt to kill him and thus rid themselves of this threat to their being worshipped. But the people who worshipped the man's beauty anticipated the gods would become displeased and thus they had decided to put a spell on the man and the palace so that he was invisible to any god entering the palace walls with intent to take or harm him, whether the god would be in disguise or not, and that the palace itself would be invisible to a god's eyes from above.

The man, whose beauty caused wars amongst his people for who may posess him, and caused the gods to hate him, he hated himself for it all. There were no mirrors in the palace, for a god could come in and see his reflection in them, but he saw himself often in the water of a pond in the palace's garden, one reflective surface that the spellcasters had not thought to hide his face from. He would stare at the water for hours each day, would stare at his own face and wonder if he could drown himself quick enough so that the servants wouldn't be able to help. But he never dared to. He was afraid of the god of Death, for he feared that this god also disliked him for his beauty being worshipped. And he knew no god would listen to him should he try to defend himself. He hoped the god of Death would be rational, and be able to see behind his horrible beauty to see how much he hated it. He hated his own beauty even more than the gods could ever hate it. But there was no way for him to rid himself and the worlds of it. He was not allowed to hold any sharp objects, eat alone, drink alone, cook or clean. All those things, though they were familiar to him by birth, were done by the servants. He couldn't even call them _his_ servants. They were paid not by him and did not obey just him and weren't loyal to just him. They were supposed to take care of him, until their king returned from war, take care of everything for him, and it was downright infuriating.

Day after day passed, night after night dragged on and slowly, but surely, over the years of this abuse to his mind, he began to crumble between his own fingers, in his own arms, and broke. The servants watched helplessly as his eyes lost all life and lustre. He was still perfectly beautiful, sublime even, but his eyes were dead. His being, safe for his body, was dead.

This night, too, he sat alone in his room, his prison, atop the softest bed and sobbed and cried into his hands. He was alone. There were a hundred servants outside of that locked door, caring only for his well-being, but he was completely alone. He knew people would do anything to be him. To be worshipped for their beauty and being taken care of daily and never have a need or care in the world. He knew people loved him for his beauty, that they wanted to preserve it for eternity, but he hated it. He hated them. He was alone. No one dared talk to him. He held no power despite the high status he had been given by his people. He was alone and powerless. Oh sure, he was visited often by the nobility of his city and of others, but they barely talked to him and rather regarded him like an animal of an especially exotic kind. Something they had never seen before, and they were always too much in awe, gawking at him, to hold a conversation and would not listen to him when he would attempt to talk to them.

Often enough some felt they were worthy (or wealthy) enough to ask for his hand, but his people would never let him go, no matter how much they were offered. He was the city's treasure, and they would rather die than let him go. And he was already promised.

His sobbing would not cease in intensity. He wanted nothing more but to be rid of his horrible beauty. To live normally once more, as he had before he had been ripped from his home and put into this palace by the kingdom's king, which was built entirely for him.

He prayed for a death that was quick and soon, prayed to the gods he offended with his beauty and its consequences and begged and pleaded for forgiveness, that he understood their anger and wished, as they did, for himself to die so that the gods would need to worry no more. He begged for forgiveness, but any god he prayed to who listened scrunched their nose and held it up in disgust and petty envy. How dare he bring them so much trouble and ask for forgiveness in turn! They would all strike him down with illness if they could see him or the palace.

There was one god, however, a forgotten god, who didn't care like the other gods about being worshipped. People had ceased worshipping him so long ago, he half turned into what he was the god of: the Wind. As he heard the sobs and cries, he took pity on the man and knew he hated his own beauty. The Wind was a dead god, and thus the spell had no effect on him and he could see the man. His beauty was indeed breathtaking, but he was distracted by the man's cold sobs. The Wind entered through the bars of the window into the man's chamber and sat next to him while he sobbed. The man felt the dip of the mattress and looked next to himself in alarm, but couldn't see anyone, because the Wind was invisible to him.

"It's alright. You needn't fear me. I am the Wind. People have forgotten about me, and thus I cannot be seen by mortal eyes. I don't mean you any harm, rather, I am here to bring comfort. I heard you cry, I heard you sob, night after night after night. And it broke my heart; it is not your fault what your people have done, yet the gods can't see it. They have been blinded by worship, by selfishness, and I admire that you haven't fallen into the trap of hubris because you are worshipped like a god is," he spoke calmly and softly and the man calmed down from his surprise and looked at him with big and hopeful eyes which melted the Wind's old and cold heart to the core and softened his hard features.

"You came here to help me? Oh, thank you! Can you help me out of here, please? Oh, I would do anything in return, but please help me out of here!" the man begged he Wind, but he shook his head and solemnly spoke.

"I'm afraid I cannot do more for you than bring some comfort to your world. I am old and dead and forgotten, and my power has faded. I could not conjure a wind strong enough to break these spell-ridden walls that keep you inside them against your will. I'm afraid I have not the power to help you," he said and saw the man immediately deflate in front of him and his heart broke in disappointment.

"Oh... But... Thank you for at least not hating me as the other gods do. Thank you for understanding... Wind? Um... Had you not had a name when you were worshipped?" he asked meekly and the Wind laughed heartily.

"Hahaha! Of course, I had a name! But, oh, how long have I gone without it? The other gods ceased to call me by my name a long time ago! Thought me not worth a name, you see. My name was and should still be Alexander," he grinned and the man's eyes shined anew, but also with some anger inside, though clearly it was not directed at Alexander.

"How could the gods think you're not worth a name! You're one of them after all! You're a god just like them, and simply because people ceased to worship you, you're suddenly beneath them? This is far from acceptable! Should they not have helped you instead of this indignity?" he proclaimed, outraged at which Alexander laughed even more.

"You see, I thought so too! It seems it isn't the mortals that should be punished for selfishness, but rather the gods themselves. But that is sadly not how it works and I was cast aside, despite who I was to them. But do tell me your name, please. I haven't heard it muttered once in this palace, I fear it is kept secret," he grinned and the man frowned and looked to the side.

"I... My name is Aaron, but... Don't let the servants know I told you, or anyone, please. They will be upset and while they wouldn't harm me, they'd punish me differently; I'd rather not share how. They denied me my birthname upon my arrival at the palace. They claimed it was 'an unbefitting name for my beauty'. And they told me that once they have found a name they approve of I shall be named so," he spoke with a sad and frustrated tone at which Alexander frowned, "And I know at which event I shall be renamed."

"So you, too, were denied your name. We're the same in some regards it seems. I'm invisible to mortal eyes, you're invisible to hostile gods. I was denied my name, you were denied yours," he chuckled darkly.

"But we are also opposites. I am a mortal, you're a god. I am worshipped, you are forgotten. I am imprisoned while you remain as free as possible. I cannot leave this place, you could never be held in it. We're the same and complete opposites," Aaron smiled solemnly and sighed, "I suppose it would make sense if we found comfort in each other."

"I do find that your company is... comforting; I can't deny it. I don't see why I should," he smiled and Aaron smiled, too.

"Is there a way for you to become visible to me?" Aaron asked curiously.

"If I were worshipped again, perhaps I could regain my old form, but I'm not sure; it is merely a theory," he shrugged with his shoulders, but Aaron was taken with a sudden burst of passion and leaned forward to the forgotten god.

"Once I'm out of here I will have a temple built in your name!" he proclaimed with passionate determination, something Alexander had never seen in him in the days he watched him until he decided to act and help. Alexander was taken aback by this, but couldn't help the amused smile that crept onto his lips and he pet Aaron's head. It was rather endearing.

"Wouldn't that be swell. But even if you're never getting out of here, I appreciate the thought," he said and smiled and looked outside. The sun had been dragged behind the mountains and the moon took it's place, it's lesser light illuminating the world below just barely. He knew the gods that did this work, and he couldn't say he liked them better than the rest. He couldn't say he liked any god.

"I'll do everything in my power to make sure you are worshipped once more. Oh, how I wish I could give you my place in life, sans the mortality. You'd be worshipped and wouldn't have to worry no more! I wish we could trade places," he sighed and Alexander just snorted a laugh.

"Fate seems to dislike us, doesn't she? Not the nicest that goddess of Fate. Disliked her even before my god-death. But, alas, it is quite late. Rest now, dear Aaron. Your eyes are burned red from your crying and it breaks my heart to see you this exhausted. Please rest now," he gently guided Aaron to lie down on the bed and he covered him with the covers. Aaron smiled at him, rather where he perceived him to be, and nodded.

"Thank you, Alexander. I really needed your comfort. I pray this wasn't a dream or stupid illusion my mind crafted in loneliness. Will you visit me again tomorrow in the morning so I may find you aren't simply a splendid craft of my mind?" he asked with a smile and sleepy eyes and Alexander nodded.

"Of course. Wouldn't want you to think you've gone mad," he snickered and Aaron giggled quietly as he closed his eyes and felt one last petting of his head by Alexander's hands before he fell asleep and Alexander vanished from the room, just to return the next morning.

They made this a habit, the forgotten god and the worshipped mortal, and turned into good friends, into best friends over the span of two years. They comforted each other when one felt particularly rotten and forlorn and held each other on those most dreadful of nights. They scarcely spent a minute away from each other and Alexander had ceased to leave for the night and stayed in Aaron's bed with him. Neither were plagued by nightmares in each other's presence and they felt safe and comfortable the closer they were. Of course, both were plagued by dreadful guilt too often. Alexander for not being able to help Aaron escape, and Aaron for not being able to have a temple built in Alexander's name and get people to worship him. They assured each other often that it was quite alright, and that they had each other still, but the guilt never quite ceased to exist, but was at least only on the most rarest of occasions in the forefront of their minds.


	2. Chapter 2

But every so often Alexander left for the realm of gods beyond the skies above whenever any nobles visited Aaron and he could do no more to help him through the ordeal. There was nothing else within the realm of mortals that caught his interest much, and his old home -- which had long ago been denied its right to be called his home -- was the only place where anything interesting ever happened, be it some drama between the gods or drama between a god (or more) and a mortal (or more). Though, that day, when he arrived at the gate of the god's realm, he was met with some festivity or another he had not been made aware of previously. He sidled through the celebrating crowd where sneers and looks of disgust at his mere presence were thrown at him the moment he arrived.

'Makes ya feel right at home, don't it,' he thought sarcastically and did his best to appear ignorant of the glares thrown his way. He flitted over to the god of the Sun, who was conversing happily with the god of the Moon, and tapped his shoulder. Even though the god disliked Alexander about as much as the rest, he could at least be persuaded into talking honestly to him.

"What do you want, Wind?" he sneered and spit the title at Alexander, who rolled his eyes.

"What's this party about?" Alexander asked and the god of the Sun snorted disdainfully, while the god of the Moon looked at Alexander sceptically.

"You really don't know?" the god of the Sun asked with genuine surprise in his voice and the god of the Moon raised an eyebrow in question.

"If I knew, I would not have asked you, Thomas." he rolled his eyes and Thomas growled.

"Tch, your tongue is not worthy of speaking my name, you runt of a god!" he proclaimed loudly and attracted the attention of a few gods around them who then glared at Alexander much harsher than the god of the Sun in front of him. He found the thought amusingly ironic, but he ignored the insult Thomas had thrown at him. It wasn't like this had been the first time this particular insult had been thrown at him in the past couple centuries.

"Well, tell me then, what has happened that has gathered all the gods in one place?" he asked amused.

"A union, a marriage. Of whom hardly concerns you, but it is of our local goddess of Beauty and our goddess of Fertility. I do think this union will be extremely beneficial to all, the world below included," he said with a self-assured grin and Alexander raised his brow.

"Eliza and Maria? I can't say I'm surprised, but I sure am happy they have found each other. Where are they? I'd like to give them congratulations and perhaps conjure up a wedding gift. I do think I might have something suitable." He smiled and Thomas scoffed, but the god of the Moon spoke before he could.

"I don't believe they need anything from you, Wind," he spat with such venom it made even Thomas look at him in surprise. Alexander didn't take James' words seriously, true as they may even be.

"Oh, come off it, James. I can do whatever I want. Perks of being a dead god is you can't be held accountable for your actions! And I am going to exploit the only power I have left!" he laughed loudly and flitted around the room carried by his winds and knocked over a good few gods and drinks before he finally found the newlywed couple and halted in front of them.

Eliza and Maria, the goddesses of Beauty and Fertility respectively, were startled as the winds Alexander had conjured to carry him nearly knocked them over, and very nearly knocked the cake another god had brought them onto them. Alexander grinned at their indignified yelps.

"Eliza, Maria! It is good to see Beauty and Fertility together today and for eternity! May I offer my most sincere congratulations and goodwill in form of a gift?" he grinned brightly at the startled couple, who looked at each other, unsure if they should accept a gift from a dead god. Eliza then nodded at him with a soft smile. She was the goddess Alexander hated the very least of them all, but he also knew her wrath was only less than her sister, the goddess of Wrath. Eliza was a kind soul and showed the least hatred towards Alexander of them all, though Alexander felt the prejudice she held against him very vividly. He grinned even brighter and conjured up a white, see-through crystal and offered it to the couple. Maria hesitantly took it and eyed it sceptically. At this point, the entire realm of gods had their attention on Alexander, glares piercing his back and head like spears. The beauty of the crystal was absolutely breathtaking. It shone bright and clear and radiated a strong power. Everyone was taken aback by the power they perceived from it.

"What is this?" Maria asked and Alexander could barely suppress a giggle.

"A gift of good will!" he simply grinned, feeling rather earnest that day.

"But what does it do?" Eliza asked, curiously eyeing the crystal in her wife's hand.

"I crafted it myself from a rock from the pond which the most beautiful being has graced with his gaze in the palace he is kept in; split to show its own beauty by my very own hands and cut by my very own winds so that it shall shine brighter than the sun could ever hope to shine. What it does? Hold it before your eye and it shows you what you desire to see. And with it, you may look upon any place on the realm below -- except the palace in which the most beautiful creature is kept. It pierces the deepest parts of the ocean, shines a light into any cave, and peeks for you in nigh any window. I ask you, use it well, my dearest former friends, if you choose to accept it," he bowed dramatically at the last sentence and there were murmurs all around at the mention of 'the most beautiful being'.

"How dare you bring up that awful mortal that has cost us so many worshippers! Destroy that crystal, Maria, Eliza! It is a mockery of the both of you!" a god among the crowd proclaimed with anger.

"Come off it! The crystal needn't be destroyed if it's unwanted! It took me some work, and I'd rather have it back if it displeases the pair," Alexander rolled his eyes at the looming gods around him.

"Most beautiful being?" Thomas whispered to himself in confusion. The Wind had obviously not been talking about Eliza, the goddess of Beauty herself, but if she weren't the most beautiful being, then whom could it be?

"The crystal itself doesn't displease us, rather its origin is less charming," Maria said with disdain coating her voice.

"It is what gives the crystal its power," Alexander shrugged, "If you stopped minding its 'less charming' origin then I am sure it will please the both of you greatly as a gift from yours truly. But if it continues to bother you, I shall take it back to the palace and present it to its prisoner. Simply to spite you," he frowned at them and stretched out his arm with his palm up to take back the crystal if they chose to give it back.

"I'm sure he wouldn't be put off by its origin," said Maria and handed Alexander the crystal. He took it and dropped it, letting it disappear with his winds down to the realm of mortals, and conjured up something else. A grey and green egg, which had a foul and rotten smell to it. He grabbed Maria's hand and shoved the egg into her hand, smiling maliciously at her. She shrieked in disgust and attempted to throw the egg away, but it would not leave her hand. Alexander let his winds carry him upwards above the crowd and he held his stomach as he started laughing uncontrollably.

"You! What have you done?!" Maria shrieked at him and he grinned down at her, still giggling madly.

"Goddess of Fertility, I hereby give you to raise a rotten woolmilkpig's egg! Raise it well, my former friend! You're obligated to! Hahahahahaha!" he laughed and giggled and snorted madly as he let his winds carry him around the room, just above where the gods could reach and harm him, and through the gate and then down to the moral realm, to the palace where his best and most loyal friend was prisoner in. Oh, he knew he and Aaron would share a grand and good laugh over his prank. Since Maria was the Goddess of Fertility and the egg could not leave her hand it would grow and eventually hatch. Egglaying woolmilkpigs were his and his alone, his favourite eternal animal, because it provided him with eggs, wool, milk and eventually meat. Divinely good eggs, wool, milk and meat! He once snuck those items from his animals into the palace and made it so that these things would be used in the making of Aaron's next meal, while he made the wool into a magnificent and divinely soft and warm robe. Aaron had been so happy when he found out about it, it was a present after all! But this prank was simply genius. He didn't want any of the gods to have one of his egglaying woolmilkpigs, and that's why he gave her a rotten egg. It would not live and produce any eggs, wool or milk and its meat would cause disease by its mere smell! Haha, what a prank! And none of the gods could do anything about it! Because he put another curse on the egg that made sure it 'lived' at least a good few hundred years, enjoying temporary immortality and invincibility! He was a genius of a special kind. That should teach them for some time. Or not, who cares? He got a good laugh out of it and Aaron would too. No one else actually mattered.

His winds carried him down to the palace and he disappeared into it while all gods above cursed his name a hundred times, even though they knew their curses could not affect a dead god. Thomas meanwhile was rather intrigued by what he found out that day. And he cursed Alexander for the egg and for ruining with it such a special day. Eliza kept secretly giggling the whole time and knew that if Alexander saw how outraged everyone was he would get such a kick out of it.  
Alexander meanwhile lied on the bed he and Aaron had shared for the better part of one and a half years. He was so proud of himself and couldn't wait to tell Aaron!

At that exact moment, the doors to the room were opened and Aaron stepped inside, after which the doors abruptly closed behind him and he let out a breath he'd been holding and massaged his temples. He looked over to his bed and saw a familiar dip in it and knew then that Alexander was in the room with him.

"Hello, Alexander! How was your day outside of the palace?" he asked with an exhausted tone, but Alexander could the in his eyes how happy he was to 'see' him.

"Amazing, but I see your day inside of it wasn't quite that. Would you like to share? Or rather complain as is your right and expected of you?" Alexander asked back and Aaron snorted.

"Nothing too different. One of the guests complained that there weren't any hot drinks served and when it was explained to him that everything in the palace is the way it is to ensure my protection he was outraged and exclaimed the servants didn't care about the guests at all and only cared for me," he rolled his eyes and Alexander laughed.

"Well, yeah, that is literally their whole job," Alexander snorted and Aaron giggled along.

"That's almost exactly what I said! And when I did he grew even more outraged, screaming that I am as selfish and self-absorbed as I am beautiful and you wouldn't believe how I laughed at that! I could hardly stop and my face started hurting after a while and he just looked at me strangely and asked me what's wrong. Guess what I said then!" he beamed proudly.

"What did you say? What did you say?" Alexander pressed with a grin.

"I said 'Well, I must be mud-ugly then!'" he laughed heartily and Alexander burst into laughter as well, clutching his stomach and rolling over in laughter.

"Yeah! You show him! That prick doesn't know what he's talking about!" he laughed and giggled and snorted.

"Well, then he attempted to attack me, actually, but the servants were quick enough to detain him before he could do anything... He's going to our city's court tomorrow and... Well... You know how they handle these things regarding me... I think the man might have been blind," the laughter in the room halted abruptly as Aaron frowned at the ground. Alexander was quick to get up and hug Aaron close.

"No, none of that, Aaron. You know nothing that's happening here is your fault. It's the fault of your people for worshipping you as a god and handling any crime or attempted crime against you as a crime against a god. It's their doing, not yours. None of this is your fault, and don't you ever dare think otherwise," he assured him and rocked him back and forth when he noticed Aaron started to cry quietly. He rubbed his back and held his head close and murmured comforting things into his ear and kissed his head, everything in an attempt to calm the poor soul. Eventually, he led him into bed and let him snuggle close to him until his breathing slowed down and he eventually fell asleep with Alexander's arms still wrapped around him. Alexander figured he'd tell him about his prank tomorrow. And with that thought, he promptly fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Thomas, the god of the Sun, spent all day searching the entire realm of mortals for this 'most beautiful being', but could not, for the life of him, find him. He spent not only that day, but many more after that searching and looking and becoming more and more frustrated at not finding him. Or Alexander for that matter. He knew that the dead god had made a habit of pranking both gods and people to liven up his daily routine -- he had been doing so even before Thomas existed -- and Thomas had long learned to ignore him whenever he saw him, but now that he couldn't even find the Wind he grew even more irritated. There was no place his rays couldn't reach, and there was nothing he didn't see in both the realm of the gods and the realm of mortals. Or so he thought. He grew most unpleasant to be around and gods soon started avoiding him. He had to put an end to this. He had to find the Wind, he had to know more about 'the most beautiful being' or his undying curiosity would be the death of him, eating at him until he was entirely consumed by it.

He decided to visit the newlywed couple, who had been close friends with the Wind before he died -- like many gods. Maybe they would know where to find him, or have an idea of where he could be that he had not yet thought of. He entered their palace in the gods' realm and was met with the foulest stench he had ever smelt in his entire life. He slapped a hand against his nose to rescue it from the stench and kept on going forward in search of the couple. He found them in their bedchamber, Maria trying and failing at getting the rotten egg out of her hand, but it would only wander from one hand to another. She kept cursing and yelling at it and Eliza watched and laughed heartily.

"Am I interrupting something?" Thomas asked with a suppressed snicker and Maria immediately glared daggers at him.

"What do you want!" she spat at him venomously and continued trying to get the egg off of her hands. She was in a most foul mood.

"The Wind -- do you know where he is?" he asked and Maria yelled at him.

"What do you want that bastard for?! He has done quite enough damage! Stop laughing, Eliza, and help me!" she yelled, but Eliza continued laughing uncontrollably.

"Well, I've been looking everywhere but I cannot for the life of me find him anywhere. I want to know what this 'most beautiful being' is everyone keeps mentioning, and how it comes that I have not yet been made aware of it. You wouldn't happen to know the place where he is hiding?" he asked with a grin.

"How should I know! As soon as I get my hands on him I will kill him for good!" she declared.

"Well, as of now your hands seem pretty full, my dear," Eliza snickered.

"Eliza, for goodness' sake, if this is how our marriage shall continue, I want a divorce!", she growled and tried to kick the egg out of her hands, but failed once again and rather pathetically at removing the egg from her hand.

If Alexander had been present in that room at that precise point, he would have relished in the scene and have a good laugh, Thomas was sure. He thought back on when Alexander hadn't died as a god. They had been somewhat close, that was all Thomas was willing to admit to himself. Close enough that Alexander wouldn't prank him but rather get his help in pranking others. The Wind really had been, and still was, a big ol' prankster, loving his tricks he played on others. And before he hadd died, gods had liked him and had been good sports about his pranks and tricks. It had come to a point where every god, led by Thomas, would create one giant prank to prank the Wind with every year, at the end of each year. Alexander had always appreciated it and taken whatever they'd thrown at him with a big and goofy grin, though it became difficult to surprise him after the first three times. But now that he was dead and everyone looked down on him for it, his pranks had become filled with bitterness and spite and hate and frustration.

Objectively speaking, it should have broken Thomas' heart the first time any of the gods had been hostile towards the Wind. It had been autumn at the time and Alexander had died a few weeks prior, but wasn't yet aware of it himself -- at least it seemed so -- while every other god was. He had then pranked the god of Autumn by blowing a mountain of leaves on top of him, burying him in it. That was the first time any god had acted hostile towards him and had berated him for his prank. It had been such a shock to Alexander's system that he broke down crying in confusion and retreated. A few days later he had sincerely apologized to the god of Autumn and had brought a gift in form of wool, milk and meat from his renowned egglaying woolmilkpig as a reconciliation gift, but the god of Autumn had thrown the precious items on the ground and stomped on them and told the Wind to get lost. Alexander had flitted upwards to the sun in search of Thomas, probably to ask him for help to make the god of Autumn not hate him anymore, or perhaps even answers, confused as he had been, but Thomas had been just as hostile towards him, telling him to get lost and never show his face again. As a whole, Thomas could not explain why he was so hostile. The Wind's presence just felt so angering, like it should not be there. Alexander had been so taken aback by this hostility that he had actually fallen from the sun and hadn't thought about catching himself with his winds until he had already hit the ground.

He hadn't been seen after that for years to come and when he had finally resurfaced -- just when everyone had assumed they would never have to see him again -- he had come back with full force and pranks for everyone. Pranks and tricks that everyone would have found funny just before he'd died, but found disgusting and repulsive afterwards. Simply because he had 'died'. Because people stopped worshipping him and he did not disappear. And Thomas? He had acted just like everyone else. He stopped a moment to think about it, his mind inexplicably dwelling on the notion: Could this have happened to him? Surely not, he's the god of the Sun after all! But... if people had stopped worshipping him, and he had not disappeared, then... he would have just been like the Wind; forgotten by his people and hated by his friends. He realized, he could have been Alexander; anyone could have been Alexander! Anyone could have been forgotten, and inexplicably not disappear upon it, and no one would give a single second thought about it! Dammit. Now he really had to find him. He had to apologize for goodness' sake. Stupid sudden epiphany.

"Can you tell me anything about his whereabouts or not?" he asked impatiently.

"I'm sure if he wants to be found, you'll be able to find him. Now you should leave, I believe. I shall try to calm my wonderful wife down," she smiled and Maria glared at her.

"I don't need calming down, I need this stupid egg off of me!" she yelled and Eliza snickered, "HOW DO YOU FIND THIS FUNNY!"

Thomas sighed and left the two goddesses alone to deal with the egg. He had never honestly seen an egg from Alexander's woolmilkpigs and he wondered what colour the egg might have originally been. He was sure that no god amongst them actually knew what the woolmilkpigs looked like. Thomas began to wonder how the gods even knew about the woolmilkpigs. He growled in frustration. He would never find Alexander like this. He wanted to apologize, for the sudden sympathy he felt ate at him about as much as his horrid curiosity, and he had to know where to find this 'most beautiful being'. He climbed his rays back up into the sun and looked upon the realm below. He found nothing, yet again, and he was surprised at how disappointed he still was at this, which it was not a new revelation. Not even the slightest sign of Alexander anywhere. Not in the realm of gods, not on the mortal realm, nowhere. He wasn't within the ocean, as he had been hiding in only once (and never again, for the god of the Sea had not taken kindly to the Wind polluting his ocean with his mere presence), in any cave or any house. He wasn't anywhere. But Thomas continued his search every day and implored James to look out for any signs of him also during the night, though James only reluctantly agreed to this, and only for his friendship with Thomas, for otherwise, he would rather avoid spending his thoughts on Alexander, lest the past blinds him to the present. For weeks there was no sign of the dead god anywhere until finally, one day...

He had found him. He had finally, finally found him. Alexander had left a palace of some sorts and flitted and sped across the skies with no sign of stopping. Thomas was elated that he finally found the dead god and sped down to meet him. When Alexander saw him approaching, he halted for a moment in confusion and surprise and then immediately took off at his fastest speed after flinching at seeing him, with which Thomas could not keep up with, but damn it, he tried. His light was quicker than Alexander's winds, but unlike those, Thomas' rays could not carry him and he had to run atop them, and he could not keep up with Alexander for the life of him. He yelled out for Alexander to stop, but Alexander would not slow down but remained dead-quiet throughout the chase, though Thomas could not determine whether it was out of scared panic or simple focus on escaping him.

It got to the point where Thomas had to stop in his pursuit and catch his breath instead of Alexander. He huffed and cursed the dead god for his speed which no god could keep up with, ever.

The winds around him suddenly picked up and beat around him harshly, shoving him and pulling at him from every direction. He was pushed against cliffs and thrown down to the ground by the harsh winds and he could hardly keep himself up. He was beaten senseless by these winds and beat around the sky across the ocean in which the winds dropped him and picked him up from repeatedly and once he was above ground instead of water he was dropped into sharp stones, slammed against walls and trees and thrown around like a ragdoll. And dammit, it hurt. He yelped and shrieked at every pain, but he could not move against the wind that was pushing against him constantly.

"Dammit, Alexander!" he cursed against the winds.

Suddenly, and quite immediately following his shout, the winds died and everything went dead-quiet. Thomas was so startled, he fell to the ground at the lack of resistance. The sharp rocks beneath him cut into his hands and he hissed in pain.

There was suddenly a shadow covering him from behind and he whipped around in surprise to see a wide-eyed Alexander right in front of him, much too close for comfort.

"What did you just call me?" Alexander asked urgently, and Thomas did not realise what he meant in that moment.

"Wh-what?" Thomas replied dumbfounded and Alexander growled.

"What. Did you. Call. Me," he repeated through gritted teeth, urging Thomas to answer him speedily.

"A-alexander, I-" he attempted but was cut off by Alexander throwing himself at him and hugging him so close he could hardly breathe. Thomas was confused and surprised beyond belief and could only stand there stupidly as Alexander hugged him half to death and showed no sign of ever letting go of him. He had to pry him from himself and looked at him with the most confused and startled look in his eyes, especially once he found the bright grin on Alexander's face and the pure excitement in his eyes, though they were hiding the tears that welled up in Alexander's eyes.

"You called me by my name!" he explained so giddily, "He called me by my name! By my name!" He jumped up and down excitedly and turned and twirled in delighted happiness. Thomas stared at him, realizing what he meant. He had been denied his own name for years, after all. How many years had it even been since he was called by his own name? Thomas tried to remember. It was the 350 year anniversary of the goddess of Fate and the goddess of Time's wedding day when Alexander had died and -- he stopped dead in his thoughts -- they just celebrated their 650 year anniversary... Alexander had been denied his name and any positive contact with another god for three centuries. Three. Centuries. He looked at Alexander, who was still dancing happily in front of him, with an apologetic look in his eyes.

He stepped forward to him and hugged him, startling Alexander for a second, before he happily, and strongly, returned the hug. Thomas could feel the relief just pouring from Alexander's body in his arms; the happiness, the excitement, the catharsis. So many years had passed in which no god acknowledged him positively. In which every god had sneered at his mere presence, had been utterly disgusted by it and had hated him. So many years in which he was denied his name, and was denied being loved by anyone. All of that hate and frustration and confusion and utter and complete rage seemed to be just... gone... With one word. Out of his mouth.

Suddenly, something wet hit his shoulder and Alexander was trembling in his arms, his breath hitching and hiccuping. Thomas was immediately alarmed and pulled away just enough to see Alexander's face. His eyes were just wet and tears poured out of them and his face was red and his eyes scrunched half shut and his nose ran slightly and he was smiling. He was smiling. He was crying and grinning and beaming and threw himself against Thomas again, burying his head in his chest and crying and sobbing into his and he started to violently mutter something into him too.

"You bloody son of a- How could you? How could you do this to me for hundreds of years? You damn bastard! I didn't even know that I died! I didn't even know! And you did, and you didn't tell me and then you hated me! And then you denied me my name and then, and then- fuck! And now? You bastard! How could you just- how could you just seek me out and do this? I was perfectly happy hating you for what you've done, but now... Thank you... Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I hate you, but I love you for this and... Please don't hate me anymore!" he yelled into his chest, all with no malice in his voice, but a bright smile which turned into a desperate frown at the last sentence.

Thomas was hit with a wave of guilt and hate for himself washing over him and mercilessly drowning him in his own mistake. He hugged Alexander close to him; close, close, ever closer, never close enough. And Alexander sobbed.

Soon they found themselves on the ground, leaning against a tree, still in each other's arms. Alexander was at peace like only Aaron could make him do usually. But this was far from something usual. Thomas had denied it, but they had been extremely close before Alexander had died. A tight and thick bond which Alexander could never have had dreamed of could be severed. But when he had died it had been, quite easily, too. And now it was withered and old and broken and rotten, but it was quite easy for Alexander, despite his former hate for the other, to begin weaving a new bond, which Thomas would then join him in. But he was also mildly confused. He wondered how Thomas had finally come to the conclusion that what he had done had been wrong? But he felt it was wrong to ask him about it, especially since they had a lot of bond-repairing to do now.


	4. Chapter 4

Alexander sighed in Thomas' arms. At some point, they had decided to go into Thomas' sun, for no one could find them there and then question why Alexander, still very much dead, was relaxed and at peace in Thomas' arms. Neither of them wanted that to happen, though both for some different reasons -- though they might not realise this just yet -- and complicate things for everyone involved. It would just make things messy, that's what Thomas' thoughts were on the matter. And neither of them wanted to deal with another god either way. They were at peace in each other's arms, one more so than the other, hidden away in the sun from the world, without a care in the aforementioned. Then, they began to talk. At first, Alexander asked Thomas what he had done in the past three hundred years and Thomas had to admit that he hadn't done too interesting things. Just the daily routine of directing the sun across the sky and meet James for a few minutes before the other god had to work directing the moon. Except on those special days when there was a celebration of some kind. But other than that, and being witness to strange things, he had to admit that his most interesting and fun days had been long behind him, and had probably died with Alexander. Alexander then told Thomas of the adventures he had had in the realm below, the things he had done and gone through, the tricks he had played and the fun he had had. There was so much to tell Thomas, it took him the better part of three days, each day for one century of adventures. Then, on the third day, Alexander was just ending the tale of how he tricked the god of the Stars to fall in love with a vulture, and began the last one right after.

"And when he realized that the bird was not actually a beautiful woman, but, in fact, a bird, he made meteors fall on my head! Meteors!", he laughed and Thomas roared with laughter, "And that's the tale of how I got meteors for my stone garden! I ought to show it to you! Now, a few weeks later, I was bored beyond belief-"

"A lot of your stories seem to begin with you being bored beyond belief," Thomas chuckled.

"Well, that's because it's true! I wouldn't have done any of these things if I hadn't been bored beyond belief, you know! Anyway, bored beyond belief, so I flit around the world, scare some people with harsh winds out of nowhere, but nothing is helping to get rid of my boredom, so I go on and look everywhere for something, anything really. I can't really find anything and your sun begins to set, you were awfully quick that day to get the sun across I felt, and soon night falls upon me. I come across this massive, and I do mean massive because it is unbelievably enormous, palace and it's really beautiful and the lights coming from it were mesmerizing and I'm just sitting there on a tree and think to myself 'Wow.' because I have never seen a more beautiful palace in my life. Not yours nor any other godly palace can ever hope to compare. I crept closer, carried by my wind, and looked closer at it, appreciating the detailed artwork on the outside walls, which one needs to see to believe. But then, I hear something. I hear someone crying. At first, I think nothing of it, but then I notice that the crying came from inside the palace, from one of the rooms above where I stand. My winds carry me higher, so that I may find the source of the crying because I found it unreasonable at the time that a mortal could be unhappy in such a place. I find the window from which I heard the crying and I find bars in front of me, forbidding anyone inside from leaving. I looked inside the room and I found Aaron. Months prior I had heard in passing about a mortal whose beauty was even greater than that of our own goddess of beauty and that he was worshipped for it like a god. When I heard that I had found it amusing because I knew almost every god will want this mortal dead because jealousy is always healthy and you should always act on it. Ha, whatever. I found him crying and sobbing on his bed and his beauty... truly mesmerizing. I must admit I had been breathless upon first seeing him. So, I'm right in front of his window and I'm watching him cry, but I'm not sure whether I should do something about this or not. So I come back the next night, only to find him crying again and it just about broke my heart, because I heard him pray to all of you, even you, and I heard how he begged for forgiveness. But I knew that none of the gods who were actually listening to his prayers would forgive him, even though they had no reason to hate him for anything!" he told and Thomas interrupted.

"Well, he is worshipped for his beauty and those people stopped worshipping us, so I understand why they would hate him," Thomas reasoned and Alexander frowned up at him.

"He has done nothing to warrant the hatred of the gods!" Alexander exclaimed in an offended tone.

"He is worshipped for his beauty, Alexander. That is enough to-" he tried but Alexander interrupted.

"No, you don't understand. He has nothing to do with his people worshipping him! He's beautiful, yes, but it is his people that have decided, against his will, to worship him for it. He hates being worshipped, he knows it makes the gods angry, he hates himself for it, he wants himself dead because he knows that the gods want him dead and gone! I know him, Thomas. I know him well. He has told me everything about himself, and I, in turn, told him everything I remember about myself. I know how he feels, Thomas, and it breaks my heart daily. It breaks my heart whenever he doesn't have the heart to smile. If I could I'd get him out of there but- fuck!" he jumped up and made for the exit quickly, startling Thomas greatly who jumped up and went after him, stopping him just before he could leave the sun and go who knew where he wanted to go.

"Alexander, wait! What's wrong!" he asked loudly, grabbing Alexander by the arm.

"Dammit, I didn't tell him I'd be gone for this long! It's been three days, he must be worrying sick!" he exclaimed and attempted to rip himself from Thomas grasp, but he wasn't strong enough to do so.

"Didn't tell who? What are you talking about?" Thomas asked, confusion in his voice and eyes. Alexander then turned around to look at him.

"Aaron! I didn't know I'd be gone for so long, and he sure doesn't! He must be worrying sick! I can't worry him like that! I need to go back, sorry, but I gotta go. I gotta go fast," he said and Thomas let go of his arm in shock.

"Wait, you and him? You and the most beautiful creature are-" but he was interrupted.

"I stay with him, yes. We bring comfort to each other, but now I have to go. I'm sorry, but I have to go! I'll see you maybe," he said quickly and then jumped from the sun and let his winds carry him down to earth in the blink of an eye and he was gone from Thomas' sight just as quickly. He could then not find him anywhere on earth, no matter how hard he tried to find him again that day. His rays could not find him and his own eyes could neither.

Alexander, meanwhile, arrived in Aaron's chamber quickly and looked for him, immediately finding him curled in on himself on his bed and crying and sobbing and the sight and sound made Alexander's heart break in little pieces. He rushed over to Aaron and onto his bed. Aaron startled up into a sitting position and stared at where Alexander would have been if he could see him with big and red eyes from crying too much. Alexander immediately went for a hug and Aaron melted into him and grabbed at his back to pull him even closer, closer than physically possible, while cursing him for leaving for so long and continuing to cry and sob into Alexander's shoulder while Alexander cooed sweet and comforting whispers into Aaron's ear and told him that he'll tell him what made him leave for so long as soon as Aaron was both calm and rested from this attack. He told him that something great happened to him, and despite his curiosity and his desperate anger, Aaron agreed to wait till the next day when he is rested and calm. He didn't let go of Alexander the rest of the day and the rest of the night, in fear that Alexander might leave again and maybe not even return this time and Aaron would only notice once it was too late because he could not see Alexander and would not know if he left, or so his mind told him, even though he could always tell when Alexander was in the room or not. And Alexander did not let go of Aaron for the rest of day and night, fearing that he might upset Aaron further, and really? He also really needed to be close to him right now. He believes they have become dependant on each other for comfort. They knew that whatever the other felt, they could always help each other, because they were always here for each other because they only had each other. They only had each other and it really showed. They kept close and didn't let go of each other, not even when morning came and Aaron was woken for breakfast, Alexander went with him and held him from behind, which he could do because as the god of wind, he could float on mere air alone. They could not be separated for that or the next day or the day after. And on that day Aaron reminded Alexander of what he had promised.

"Alexander?" he asked quietly, enjoying each and every second in Alexander's warm embrace.

"What is it?" he asked in response and Aaron closed his eyes in relaxation.

"I'm calm," he said quietly, snuggling closer to Alexander.

"Are you rested?" Alexander asked.

"I'm very rested," Aaron replied.

"Then I shall make good on my promise... Do you know of the god of the sun?" he asked after a short pause.

"You told me about him. You used to be close before you died, correct?" he replied.

"Verily. He denied my name first. It was a hard blow. I had not for a second believed that the bond he and I had shared could ever be severed," he said with a quiet frown in his voice.

"And then you died, and with you the bond," Aaron continued for him.

"Yes, very much so. It was broken, severed, ripped, rotten, burned," Alexander sighed, "And the worst thing to ever happen to me caused by my death. But what happened to make me so late was... When I left the palace I felt a presence behind me - I was far away from the palace already - and when I looked... it was him. Following me," he said slowly and Aaron opened his eyes and looked in his direction with confusion in his eyes.

"Why was he following you?" he asked.

"I... admit I do not know, even now. But I fled, because I didn't know what he wanted from me, and I was not in the mood for teasing. So I fled, and he pursued. But, as you know, no one can match my speed, not even him, especially not him. And then I had my winds beat him around a bit. A bit around the world, into the ocean, against rocks and trees and so on. And then... he... he called me... by... by my name," he said with deep breaths. Aaron's eyes were blown wide in shock and disbelief, his mouth agape.

"What? He... called you by your name? I thought he and every other god denied you your name!" Aaron exclaimed in surprise and Alexander nodded.

"Yes, he did! But... I don't know why, but... He called me by my name! I... I cannot express in words how bloody excited I was! I'm sure I wasn't thinking clearly! I hugged him for it and jumped and danced in excitement and then he hugged me and then he held me much like I am holding you and... it felt like old times again and it was amazing. It felt like nothing had changed. He was really still the same old god of the sun I had known so many, many years ago before my death and... It's unbelievable and I am still waiting to wake up and realise it was all one stupid dream that he called me Alexander again but... by all I know I want to believe it's true!" he exclaimed with a hopeful smile and hugged Aaron closer and buried his head into Aaron's neck.

"I hope it is true! You deserve to be happy, Alexander," he softly murmured, laying his head on Alexander's with a fond smile spreading on his lips.

"Hmmm... Perhaps I can convince Thomas to help free you. He's much more powerful than I am. The fire he wields could very well burn the walls, unlike my winds," Alexander said and Aaron frowned at him.

"Your winds are still powerful, Alexander! You're still powerful!" Aaron retorted and Alexander shook his head with a sheepish smile.

"No, not as powerful as before. And certainly not as powerful as Thomas' fire is. Before I was able to conjure up hurricanes that could have wiped this world clean of all life, destroyed countries and continents in ten seconds flat. But today? My winds can barely harm a city-state. Let alone destroy it," he mumbled pitifully and Aaron hugged him tighter.

"I will make it out of here someday and have a temple built for you and then have people worship you. You'll regain your life and regain your power and regain your might, Alexander. I swear by all I hold dear!" Aaron spoke with determination and Alexander couldn't help but smile fondly and nuzzled into Aaron's chest with a happy purr.

"But I shall see if I can still convince Thomas to help you. I should still know him like the back of my hand, and should still know how to make him help us," he chuckled and Aaron snorted.

"Aren't you a cunning fella?" Aaron raised a brow with a grin.

"I was and am still known for my cunning, dear Aaron. A prankster is I, along with a god of wind. You should know me as this by now, now shouldn't you?" Alexander grinned along and Aaron snorted.

"Of course, you are. A cunning prankster and god of winds, great wielder of the hurricane spear, proud owner of the egglaying woolmilkpigs and keeper of the golden and jewelled stone garden and holder of the singing paradise flowers, with his clouds of silver, his lightning of white and his growling thunder. Aren't you just the greatest?" he smiled and kissed Alexander's head and held him close and Alexander smiled fondly.

"You mock me, Aaron, I hear it... I should take you to my home in the god's realm when you're out of here. Show you my animals, show you my gardens, perhaps make a second home there for you if you'd like and need. Once you're out of here, I'll show you the world. You've been kept inside so much you know nothing of it, and you need to have seen it at least once and then I'll show you the realm of gods. It's something one needs to see, mortal or not." Alexander giggled and stroked Aaron's cheeks lovingly.

"Am I allowed to walk upon the gods' realm?" Aaron asked, mildly concerned.

"No, but that won't stop you. The gods will protest with all their might, but I shall bring you into our realm and thus put you under the same rules that bind me, which are, as you know, none. They won't be able to do anything against you being there. You shall also enjoy temporary immortality and invincibility under my blessing in the gods' realm," he explained and Aaron hummed.

"Tell me again, what are your gardens like? They sound beautiful, I would love to see them, but you must tell me of them again so I may see them so," he asked and Alexander nodded.

"Of course, my dearest Aaron. Which one first? The stone garden or would you rather I begin with the other?"

"The other first, please," Aaron replied and they lied back in the bed in a more comfortable position against each other and pulled the covers over each other and snuggled closer with closed eyes as Alexander began to tell Aaron, like many times before, of his gardens, with the singing paradise flowers and how they were arranged in the most beautiful forms with any colour imaginable. Singing the most beautiful songs ever created by mortals or gods. Then he told him of his stone garden, its golden stones bedazzled with jewels and the meteors arranged all in a very intricate pattern by his winds. His entire home in the realm of gods was at all times in the eye of a storm and therefore unreachable by other gods without his permission. Harsh winds would beat around the outermost ring of the storm and would throw any god off and force them out. Aaron loved hearing all about his gardens and his animals. Aaron loved hearing about them and he would love to see them one day. He could not wait to get out of his prison. He wanted to keep his promise to Alexander. He wanted then to stay with Alexander, make a home with his best friend and build a happy life with him. And the gardens and animals Alexander owned sounded so lovely and Aaron wanted to take care of them and tend to them. He would likely not be able to do it as well as Alexander, but he was willing to try it if Alexander let him, and he knew that he would.

They did not separate for two weeks after that, kept as close as possible and would not leave each other's side for anything. After those two weeks had passed their fears each had subsided greatly and they could, if they wanted, separate for longer than a few minutes. It was then that foreign royalty arrived to visit Aaron, all without announcing they would visit beforehand, which in itself was enough to warrant an outrage among not only the servants but also the people of the city. Aaron had Alexander leave for the day because he knew that Alexander would try to prank everyone and would stop at anything, not at the royals, nor at the servants to ruin the day for everyone (everyone except Aaron, because he loved those pranks), but Aaron could not handle much that day and Alexander reluctantly, but understanding, left.


	5. Chapter 5

It was an opportunity to visit Thomas again anyway, so he took it and left the palace for the day. He immediately let his winds carry him upwards to the sun. Thomas must have noticed or seen him because he opened the back of the sun slightly and Alexander easily flew inside. It was blindingly bright from the outside but only moderately bright from the inside and he found Thomas in the dead centre of it, directing the sun forward. Alexander grinned evilly and sneakily floated upwards behind Thomas. Then he jumped on him and hugged him from behind and Thomas yelped loudly and fell over with Alexander on top of him, giggling madly.

"Alexander!" Thomas yelped and hearing his name out of Thomas' mouth excited Alexander extremely.

"Thomas!" he yelled back happily.

"What are you doing here, Alexander? I couldn't find you for over two weeks! Where were you?" Thomas asked, though somehow he felt a bit uncomfortable at Alexander's presence so close. He still had to get used to this, it seemed. Alexander floated over him, letting him get up, but immediately hugged him once he did.

"Aaron and I couldn't let go of each other. We weren't near each other for three full days, imagine that!" Alexander exclaimed.

"So? Can you not stay away from each other for more than a few hours?" Thomas asked, some disdain filling his voice.

"Do I hear jealousy in that voice of yours, Thomas?" Alexander grinned and jumped upwards and floated there as Thomas looked at him with surprise and shock.

"What? No! What would I be jealous of?" he asked incredulously with wide eyes.

"Me, Aaron? You're jealous of one of us, I can tell. Either me for hanging out with Aaron all the time or him for hanging out with me all the time. Oh, or maybe both of us? What are you jealous of, Thomas? Tell me your secrets!" Alexander grinned brightly at him and Thomas frowned.

"I'm not jealous of anyone, Alexander!" Thomas yelled aggressively and Alexander just snorted.

"Sure you're not. But, anyway! Whatcha doing!" he grinned at him.

"Um..." he pointed at the clear part of his sun out of which he could look, "I'm directing the sun?"

"Oh yeah, you do that, I forgot... Wanna do something else?" he asked and poked Thomas' cheek.

'Wanna do something else', Thomas remembered those words and how many times these exact words had gotten him and Alexander into great trouble with the other gods.

"I kind of have to stay here to direct the sun, you know," Thomas countered and Alexander pouted.

"I remember way back when, when you would jump and flip at the opportunity to get out of work. What happened?" Alexander asked with the biggest pout Thomas had ever seen on him or another.

"You died, you know. And... After you died, I kinda... I kinda never left the sun during the day..." Thomas admitted with a frown.

"Well, then you need to get out more! Come on! I know that you can leave the sun to move on its own with one steady spell, you have no excuse not to come with me!" Alexander exclaimed.

"But-" Thomas tried.

"No butts! Unless you want it kicked out of the sun if I have to!" Alexander grinned.

"You cannot kick my butt, Alexander, and you know it," Thomas snorted.

Suddenly, the winds picked up drastically around Thomas and forced him upwards and beat him around and down towards the exit of the sun which suddenly opened without Thomas making it and he was pushed outside by the winds with a loud yelp. Alexander laughed and giggled maniacally and flew after him and closed the sun again with a yellow glow coming from his hand then subsiding as he caught up with Thomas falling.

"You little _shit_!" Thomas screamed at him and Alexander laughed even harder.

"You said I couldn't kick your butt! I guess you were right! **I** couldn't! But my winds certainly can!" Alexander yelled back with a grin rivalling the sun with its brightness and Thomas could then not help but smile at him and laugh as well. He grabbed Alexander's arms and pulled him closer as they continued to fall and laugh and grin at each other.

Just before they hit the ocean's surface, Alexander's winds picked them up and carried them on land, where they let themselves fall on the ground and laughed heartily while clutching their stomachs.

Their laughter died down after a while, but their big smiles didn't leave their lips as they lied next to each other. Alexander scooted closer to Thomas and hugged him again, which Thomas readily reciprocated. It felt so... freeing. Thomas was not confined to directing the sun, he could leave it with a spell that did it for him, but he had not done that since the death of Alexander. It was so freeing to be out during the day, to be away from what was his duty to control and he friggin loved it!

Alexander was a being of pure, unadulterated freedom. The winds could never be caught and held prisoner, and so could not he. He wielded the wind and clouds and storms. Dead or not, that was his calling. And his calling gave him freedom where Thomas' confined him. He remembered how, back when Alexander was alive, he would always drag Thomas out of the sun and get him to do something, anything, with him. The first time this had happened, Thomas remembered, he had been very angry and had chased Alexander around the world. Alexander had been laughing the whole time and had been very slow in the chase, teasing Thomas by almost letting him grab him, but then speeding up again just enough so that Thomas was in an endless loop of barely catching him, but being just out of reach. It had been the absolute worst, but after Alexander had finally let Thomas catch him, his laughter had been so contagious and Thomas had forgotten just why he had been mad in the first place. He had never had felt so good before, he had realised, and that was the day where Alexander officially initiated their friendship which had only grown right up until the day of Alexander's death. Alexander had dragged him outside so that he wouldn't be confined or felt too trapped doing what he had to do. Thomas smiled at the memory. He really did need to get out more, he realised. He really did.

"So, what do you want to do?" Thomas then asked him and Alexander hummed in thought.

"Hmmmmm... I dunno... We could go and prank someone! Oh, I know! The Muses!" Alexander exclaimed then and Thomas raised his brow.

"The Muses?" Thomas asked, "Which one?"

"All of them!" Alexander exclaimed loudly, "Samuel, Hercules, John, Peggy and Charles! But I always forget what they're the muses of. Help?"

Thomas sighed, he knew the Muses all too well.

"Samuel is the Muse of speeches, Hercules of poetry, John of tragedy, Peggy of dance and music and Charles of comedy. Goodness, how could you forget? Three of them you were very close with!" Thomas sighed and shook his head. Alexander shrugged with his shoulders.

"Hey, they haven't interacted with me in three centuries, don't blame me for it!" he said plainly and held up his hands in defence. Thomas was quiet at this. It really was three centuries since any god had interacted with Alexander, or interacted positively with him. Thomas frowned and he felt pity and guilt. For three centuries Alexander had been alone, had been hated, and for no real reason. And Thomas had been no better than any other god. He had hated Alexander for no good reason, too, and it made him feel awful. Alexander looked at him weirdly and Thomas suddenly hugged him tightly, which surprised Alexander a lot.

"Thomas? What's wrong?" he asked and Thomas shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Alexander. I'm so, so sorry. You did not deserve any of this!" he apologized loudly and Alexander smiled fondly and patted his back.

"Don't worry. It's alright now. It's a thing of the past now, nothing you need to worry about now. Come on, Thomas, get up. Let's prank some Muses, hm?" Alexander excitedly encouraged and Thomas pulled away and nodded. They got up from the ground and Alexander took hold of Thomas' arms and dragged him up with his winds. Thomas looked at Alexander's back confused. He wasn't sure whether or not Alexander had been serious about this, because no god knew where the Muses were, ever. The Muses simply showed up when needed or invited somewhere and no god knew where one could find them otherwise. It was a simple known fact that if the Muses aren't needed or don't want to come, you would not ever find them. So Alexander proposing to prank them seemed an impossibility all on its own.

"Alexander, where are we going?" Thomas asked.

"Next stop: The Muses!" Alexander exclaimed and the winds around them picked up and they flit across the world in five seconds and halted abruptly above a forest and Alexander slowly set them down in a tree near a clearing. Thomas looked around them in confusion and then at Alexander, who grinned wildly and stared ahead towards the clearing.

"Alexander, where are we?" Thomas asked, but Alexander shushed him and held a finger in front of his mouth as he did so, then pointed towards the clearing and Thomas followed where Alexander pointed to. There in the clearing was a waterfall and big rocks were strewn around. Then Thomas found what Alexander was pointing at and he gasped. The Muses. In all their beauty they each sat on one of the rocks and seemed to talk together and write and play music. Peggy held a lyre in her hands and began playing a beautiful melody. Charles said something which Thomas couldn't quite catch but it made the other Muses laugh loudly and Charles smiled sheepishly as he wrote something down. John shook his head with a small smile and also wrote something down and said something too, at which the other Muses' eyes widened and a collective thoughtful frown came across their features at which John smiled proudly. Then Hercules seemed to ask for their attention and then read something from the parchment in his hands at which the other Muses swooned and sighed. Samuel then cleared his throat and began reading from his parchment and after a few minutes, he seemed to ask for opinions because the other Muses either shook their head or nodded or said something in return.

Thomas looked at them in awe and then at Alexander with the same look in his eyes.

"See? There they are. You know, it was actually really easy to find them, the first time around. Maybe it's because I'm dead, but no other god seemed to be able to find them from above. I found them easily. See that lake with the waterfall? It's actually an entrance to the underworld! They sometimes throw parchment into the waterfall if they're unhappy with how it turned out," Alexander explained, whispering.

"I see... So, what are we going to do?" he asked and Alexander grinned at him.

"I was thinking they could use a bath..." he snickered and Thomas immediately caught on and grinned.

"What do I get to do?" he asked then and Alexander's grin widened.

"You, my dearest friend, shall use this," said Alexander and gave Thomas a closed bag, "And blow a mountain of leaves on them as soon as all of them jump out of the water. It's a bag of winds, so they won't know you helped, so stay hidden!"  
Thomas snorted. The prank was simple and somewhat childish, but it just sounded so incredibly funny he had to go along with it. Alexander snuck closer to the clearing without the Muses noticing him as Peggy began singing along with her music. Every Muse had their eyes closed, enjoying Peggy's song in their little paradise on earth. Alexander grinned and turned himself completely invisible and into pure wind as he finally sprung forth and pushed all the Muses into the water with harsh winds. The Muses shrieked loudly as they hit the water and Alexander made sure he pushed all of them underwater once. As quickly as he appeared, Alexander disappeared from the scene and flitted to somewhere safe. Meanwhile the confused and soaking wet Muses climbed out of the cold water and onto the ground, where they noticed that all their parchment, ink pots and Peggy's lyre had also fallen into the water and were now completely gone, all in the underworld and Lafayette, god of the Dead, would likely be very confused as to why the Muses threw so much stuff away. They were all shocked, which quickly turned into rapid rage. Suddenly, a harsh wind flew against them and hit them with a mountain of red and yellow leaves which stuck to them all over their bodies. They all shrieked once more, cursing the Wind loudly and yelling and screaming their lungs out. Alexander, meanwhile, turned himself visible again and clutched his stomach in laughter just above the Muses heads who then glared at him and yelled at him directly. Thomas couldn't help the snort coming out of his mouth as he saw how ridiculous the Muses looked, all angry and covered head to toe with water and leaves. He snorted and giggled, but silenced himself to watch the scene unfold.

"Wind, how could you!" Charles yelped, startled and the other Muses, except Hercules, who was too startled to be furious, screamed, while Alexander kept laughing.

"You little shit! Do you know what you just did!?" Peggy yelled and Alexander nodded while laughing like a maniac.

"You just threw away all of our work, all of our material! You threw away our infinite ink and parchment! You threw away Peggy's divine lyre!" John yelled with a murderous look in his eyes at which Alexander ceased laughing, but kept a malicious grin on his lips.

"You see, my former friends, that is where you're wrong! Those weren't yours, to begin with," Alexander explained. Thomas' brows furrowed. How could those things not have been the Muses' possessions?

"THEY WERE OURS!" Samuel screamed, but Alexander shook his head, his grin not disappearing.

"They were mine, remember? I made the parchment that never ran out of space, I made the ink that would not become empty, I made that lyre that would never break and never make a wrong or unwanted sound. You forget this, dear Muses, that you were my friends before my death. You forget this, dear Muses, that I've no quarrels taking away what I once gifted you, seeing as appreciated I am not, nor then are the gifts I gave. Should you deny that you do not appreciate my gifts, then you should have no quarrels to deny that you do not appreciate me, which would force you then to call me by my name, as I would not, dear Muses, believe a word out of your mouths if you didn't," Alexander explained with an eerie calmness in his voice out of those grinning lips.

The Muses stared at him with open mouths and shock in their widened eyes.

"You cannot expect this of us, Wind! You are dead! You are not worthy of a name! A dead god has no name!" Samuel exclaimed. Hercules frowned at Samuel, his eyes clearly showing how conflicted he was and he gulped. John glared at Alexander the harshest, and Charles' glare seemed to be the softest. Peggy simply glared at the water, longing for the lyre to be back in her hands, and Hercules seemed conflicted.

"Then I shall not retrieve my things. And you shall not see what you have perceived as yours for hundreds of centuries, again. It really is a shame. I never really use either the parchment, the ink or the lyre. It is a shame they shall never be used again," Alexander shrugged with a grin and Thomas' eyes widened. He did not know this. He did not know any of this. And Alexander was damn evil.

The Muses looked at each other, clearly conflicted until Samuel then glared ahead, grabbed John and Peggy and threw them into the water.

"Get our things back, you two!" he yelled at them after they had shrieked.

"Are you crazy!? I won't go into the realm of the dead! Lafayette will have my head!" John yelled at him and Peggy shrieked at him.

"Why don't you go to the underworld! You get our things!" Peggy screamed at Samuel.

"You two are crazy, I say! Just go down there and get our things! Explain it to Lafayette if he asks that the Wind screwed us over!" Samuel yelled back. This continued on with those three Muses yelling and screaming at each other as Charles attempted to prevent his friends from becoming angrier with a joke, which the others did not appreciate. Alexander set himself down to the side and watched the scene while laughing and giggling and holding his stomach. Hercules, the only Muse not arguing with the others, looked over to him with the conflicted emotions in his eyes intensifying. Hercules then took in a sharp and deep breath and walked over to Alexander with confident steps, although his quivering breath told Alexander he was not so confident. Alexander's grin softened and his laughter ceased as he looked at Hercules approach him. Hercules stopped in front of him, and his voice quivered then when he spoke.

"A-alexander... P-please, would you l-let me have y-your parchment and ink? Please, A-alexander?" he asked quietly, with no confidence in his voice, it was rather meek and Alexander smiled softly at him.

"Of course. For you only," Alexander said and lifted a hand and winds shot by them quickly and twirled into the water, scaring the other Muses and retrieving one infinite parchment and one infinite pot of ink and lifted them towards himself and Hercules and set the items down into Hercules' hands. Hercules' eyes shined as he saw the parchment unharmed in his hands and all his poetry still there. He was so thrilled to have his poetry back he hugged Alexander. Alexander was reminded of the day when he gave the Muses these gifts in the first place. Hercules had hugged him just like he did now, back then and Alexander's smile brightened as he lived through the memory again. The other Muses gasped in shock at Hercules.

"I'm sorry, Alexander. I... You... I'm sorry..." Hercules apologized and Alexander took in a sharp breath and his smile brightened.

"You've nothing to be sorry about now. I got another friend back, that's all that matters to me," Alexander said softly, hugging Hercules back. Thomas looked at this confused at first, but then he understood the scene and a smile spread on his lips.

"No, I am dearly and truly sorry. We were so close before your death. Your death is not like a mortal's death. You did not disappear upon it, you did not enter the underworld to live your death there. You died a god's death, and we all ignored your pain. And we all began our hatred, but for what? For who? What did we hate you for? It was your fault not that you died, that people ceased to worship you. We Muses are not worshipped, and yet we are loved, but why?" there were tears in Hercules' eyes, "I am so, dearly, truly, honestly sorry, Alexander. Goodness, how I've missed you!"

"I missed you too, you big old soft bear," Alexander smiled at him and kissed his head.

"Hercules! How could you! How dare you! He is dead! He is not worthy of a name!" Samuel exclaimed, but Hercules shook his head.

"Shut up, Samuel. I made my choice and unlike all of you, I cannot, could not, hate a friend of so many years, simply because each of you and everyone else could. Don't hate me for this decision, please, it has no effect on any of you and I would hate for you to begin hating me for something as silly as this," Hercules stood his ground. The other Muses glared at him, except for John who looked pained beyond belief, as though he was betrayed.

"Then I see no reason for you to be one of us, Poetry." Samuel hissed and Hercules took in a sharp breath and glared at the ground.

"I see how it is... Well, Speech, I see no reason then, to see you as one of my kind either. John, Charles, Peggy, I do hope you are not as controlled by needless hate. But... I shall take my leave regardless," Hercules spoke with an eerily calm voice, but his eyes gave his pain away easily. Alexander frowned with pain and pity and put a comforting hand Hercules' shoulder. Thomas saw that this has developed into far more than just a mere prank and he wondered if Alexander had planned this all along.  
Hercules turned around and faced Alexander and smiled at him.

"You wouldn't mind me accompanying you, would you?" Hercules asked him with a quivering voice.

"Of course I don't mind. You're always welcome, Hercules," Alexander smiled and softly took Hercules' arm and the winds around them picked up considerably and picked the two up and carried them away towards Thomas who Alexander also grabbed before then flying upwards towards the sky. He stopped then in the sky and blew out what looked like smoke at first but then took the form of silver clouds. As soon as the clouds were big enough he set down Thomas and Hercules atop them and then sat down himself as the winds died down around them. Hercules looked at Thomas with confusion in his eyes and then looked at Alexander for answers, who sat at the edge of his cloud with his back turned to the two.

"A-alexander?" Hercules asked meekly, but Alexander put a finger to his own mouth and shushed and pointed forwards. Hercules and Thomas followed where Alexander pointed to and saw how the sun was very close to setting. Alexander blew out some more clouds and had his winds carry them towards the sun. The light of the sun hit his clouds and painted them a passionate red as it slowly set behind the ocean. Thomas and Hercules gasped at this. It was beautiful. Hercules had never thought about looking at the setting of the sun and the beauty of this view took his breath away and he was inspired to write about it. He pulled out the parchment and the ink and began writing. Thomas, on the other hand, was mesmerized. He did not know his sun could create such beauty. It was a subtle beauty. A small bit of beauty, but it was still mesmerizing. He had never seen the sun set from the outside.

"It's the small beauties in the world that I adore most. It's simply light hitting some clouds, yet we find it breathtakingly beautiful. A somewhat strange thought, but once it is experienced it makes immediate sense," Alexander quietly said and Hercules and Thomas found themselves nodding and agreeing. Then the sun disappeared completely and Alexander grabbed Thomas and Hercules' arms and jumped off the clouds. Hercules and Thomas shrieked and Alexander giggled loudly. The winds picked up again and carried the three quickly across the world at an incredible speed and Thomas decided then and there that he would ever get used to this, ever, no matter how often Alexander would do this and he and Hercules closed their eyes. Then the winds became slower and they landed softly in a garden. Hercules opened his eyes first and gasped at the beauty of the garden. When Thomas opened his eyes he looked around greatly confused and confounded.

"Alexander, where are we?" Hercules asked, breathless.

"This, my dearest friends, is the most beautiful mortal garden, in the most beautiful palace of this world or of the realm of the gods, prison to the most beautiful creature of any realm. Take in the view, my friends, it's beautiful no matter if you look at it during the night or day. See there, Thomas. There is the pond out of which I took a stone to create the seeing crystal," Alexander smiled.

"Wait... We're in THAT palace?! H-how are we here? Hasn't it disappeared?!" Hercules asked with great surprise and shock in his eyes.

"Well, it is invisible to gods. Alive gods, that is. And it seems to Muses it is, too. Oh, I suppose you should meet Aaron! I wonder if the royalty has left yet..." Alexander said and Hercules and Thomas gasped.

"Is Aaron..." Hercules started.

"Yes, Aaron is the most beautiful creature of any realm and the object of the gods' intense hatred. Merely because he is beautiful and worshipped for it against his will. I suppose you should meet him. I believe he would like you two!" Alexander smiled.

Hercules did not know what to say or what to think, the thought of meeting this person elicited a sort of dread within him. It was the sort of dread one felt when you stand atop a cliff to jump into the water below. You know you will not get hurt or harmed and perhaps you even love the thrill just afterwards, but you know how you dread the fall. He dreaded this fall. Thomas, on the other hand, was too occupied being amazed once more that day at Alexander. Just what else did he not know about him, he wondered.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this chapter might suggest the opposite, Alexander and Aaron are just friends. Very, very, _very_ physically comfortable around each other, but still just see each other as platonic partners for life. They're just incredibly attached to each other, but feel no romantic or sexual attraction towards each other.

Alexander led them inside and up some stairs and through some hallways. The inside was decorated beautifully, colours fitting amazingly with each other and the furniture that lined the walls. Flowers in pots everywhere were blooming brightly and Thomas found it odd how they seemed so utterly well-kept and looked at Alexander in confusion.

"The servants are tasked to keep Aaron beautiful and well and they are tasked to keep his environment worthy of his presence. Only the best for him and I do not blame them for it. You should know him, I adore him, and I'll hope you shall too!" Alexander beamed.

"What is so special about this mortal beside his beauty?" Hercules asked curiously.

"He is humble," Alexander said and Hercules' brows furrowed in confusion.

"So? I believe there are many who are humble," Hercules argued and Alexander shook his head.

"Alright, situation: Imagine you are a mortal and since your, say, fourteenth birthday people have decided you are the most beautiful human, even surpassing the beauty of the goddess of beauty! You are taken from your home to a palace that was specially built for you to live in. Everyone inside of the palace is tasked simply to make you happy, keep your beauty, and their wish is to perhaps see the chance of you smiling at them. People have begun to worship you like a god. How, dear friend, just how would you feel? I imagine you should feel like a god since you are worshipped as one. Would you not?" Alexander said with a snicker.

"I... I suppose I would, yes." Hercules admitted.

"But here's the thing: He doesn't. He is sweet and considerate and has the driest and most sarcastic sense of humour, and you should know, both of you, he hates himself." Alexander said with a frown.

"What?" Thomas and Hercules said in unison.

"He truly does! And it breaks my heart each time it overwhelms him. I do love him and I hate whenever I see him openly hate himself. But I rather he do it openly than attempt to hide it from me," he said solemnly.

"Wait, he can see you?" Hercules asked and Alexander shook his head, "Then how-"

"I visited him once about three years ago. He was sobbing to himself and... Oh, I'll cut this short. We became friends, we comfort each other, we have become dependant on each other and I stay with him unless royalty visits. He needn't me be a distraction when royals come. He can't see me, but he knows when I'm there, even if I don't make it obvious. Oh, speaking of which! You two should make yourselves invisible! I want this to be a surprise!" he beamed and began floating, flitting forwards and Hercules and Thomas had trouble keeping up. They turned themselves invisible upon Alexander's request and they became even more curious. Alexander led them to a giant pair of doors and opened them and beckoned them to enter. As they did he then shut the door behind himself and let them take in the room. It was, as everything else was, beautiful. Hercules wasn't sure what he should write about first, the garden, the halls or the room! Thomas was looking at the bed and imagined with a pang of jealousy how Alexander would sleep on it with someone else in his arms, or him in the arms of the other. He wasn't sure where this jealousy came from, or really what he was jealous of. Was he jealous of this man for being closer to Alexander than anyone has ever been to him? Was he jealous of Alexander for being in the constant company of someone whose beauty has him worshipped? He wasn't sure at all.

Alexander made them sit on chairs while he lied down on the bed and closed his eyes.

"Now we wait," he said and put his arms behind his head to be more comfortable. Hercules and Thomas looked at each other before Hercules just shrugged and pulled out both parchment and ink and began writing. Thomas had nothing to occupy himself with, so he decided to conjure up some fire and form it and play with it while he waited. Alexander seemed to have fallen asleep in a few minutes after that. About an hour later the doors were opened and someone entered the room. Both Hercules and Thomas looked up at the noise. They silently gasped as Aaron entered the room. They forgot to breathe for a second as their eyes lay upon his body. He was breathtakingly stunning, absolutely mesmerizing, simply sublime. They forgot for a moment that it was a mortal in front of them, and not a god. They felt like _they_ were mere mortals in the presence of a god, perhaps of a god of divine beauty. There were no better words to describe him, but the words they could use did not seem fitting or even worthy to be associated with this man. 

Aaron was very tired. The visiting royals had been rude and annoying, attempting to touch him, despite both his protests and the servants' threats. He sighed and looked towards his bed. He saw the dip in the mattress and an excited smile beamed on his lips as he laughed and jumped onto the bed, startling Alexander awake with a hug.

"Hey! How was your day?" Alexander asked drowsily. Aaron sighed and shook his head, "I see it wasn't that swell, now was it?" Alexander kissed Aaron's head.

" 'twas not, no. A horrid day, truly, but you seem at ease? Has something happened? Has Thomas agreed?" he asked with curious eyes.

"Haven't asked him yet, but! I have a surprise! Close your eyes!" he beamed giddily and Aaron giggled at him.

"Okay, okay!" he said and put his hands in front of his eyes. Alexander made him face the other way.

"Alright... Hercules, Thomas, make yourself visible, won't you?" he said and Aaron frowned in confusion. Alexander tapped on his hands to make him look. Aaron was taken aback when he pulled his hands from his eyes and opened them and saw two strangers standing in front of him in his room. Startled, he jumped back a bit and immediately grabbed Alexander's arm as though to hide behind him.

"Who... Alexander, who are they? Wait... Is one of them-?" he asked and Alexander beamed.

"Yep! That's Thomas, god of the Sun, and this is Hercules, Muse of Poetry! They're... my friends as of recent development..." Alexander replied and Hercules cautiously stepped forward.

"You are Aaron? It is most wonderful to meet you! I knew no god until today who has actually ever met you! Wow... Your... Your beauty is truly mesmerising... Oh, would you mind if I put you into my poetry? I would be most honoured if you allowed it!" Hercules beamed and Aaron blushed and nodded with a sheepish smile at which Hercules' smile grew brighter.

"If the gods had ever seen you I am sure they would not know how to hate you. _I_ do not know how I would hate you," Thomas said, utterly breathless and Aaron's blush grew darker and he more embarrassed.

"Wow, I... Thank you! I'm complimented on my appearance daily, but... to hear it out of a Muse and a god... I don't know what to say!" Aaron smiled sheepishly and leaned against Alexander.

"Say, how come someone of your beauty is unwed?" Thomas blurted with a goofy grin and Aaron looked at him surprised, though Alexander's look of surprise was almost comical at his question. Hercules nodded along, the same goofy grin on his face. Alexander looked at them oddly for a second, then grinned in realisation. Aaron was entirely taken aback by the question and sputtered his answer.

"W-well, I, uh... th-the people of the... of the city don't... um... th-they simply, uh, f-found no one they, uh... d-deemed worthy! And, um... well... uh... It's, uh, k-kind of... difficult to... to uh, to... disobey when... uh... wh-when they basically decide over, uh, over y-your entire life and... um..." he stuttered at Hercules and Thomas' absolutely love-struck gazes. Those gazes weren't uncomfortable, Aaron found he enjoyed them, but they were unfamiliar and this made him nervous, but Alexander felt it and pulled him closer and put his head atop Aaron's which helped to calm him down. Their love-struck gazes turned sympathetic.

"You should not be forced to be here against your will. That is simply awful!" Hercules exclaimed. Alexander had a thoughtful expression for a second until an idea made him grin.

"Well, it is a shame that he is forced to stay here, that much is true. But we can do nothing about it, sadly. If I could, I would have freed him from this prison a long time ago! But the spell on this palace, and because my power is so faded it is quite impossible for me to get him out of here. If only there was another way for Aaron to be freed..." Alexander sighed a bit dramatically and Aaron looked at him confused for a second, before quickly realising what he was doing.  
Thomas and Hercules looked worried, but then Thomas smiled brightly as though he was hit by a sudden idea.

"I know! I could help! I'm sure I could easily burn through the wall! And then you, Alexander, could carry him away from here!" Thomas exclaimed and Hercules nodded along.

"Then I could put a Muse's spell on you that makes you invisible to the mortal eye! No one would know where you had gone! They wouldn't be able to find you!" Hercules added excitedly.

"And then you could live wherever you want and do whatever you want," Alexander smiled at Aaron and Aaron knew what part he had to play.

"You would do that for me?" he asked Thomas and Hercules with half a pout and big doe eyes, "Even though I am a mere mortal, and am worshipped for my beauty?" He pointed at his own body, and Thomas and Hercules nodded furiously with bright blushes across their cheeks.

"Of course, of course!" they exclaimed in unison. Aaron's expression softened into a real and genuinely thankful smile and Thomas and Hercules took in sharp breaths at the sight and sighed. Alexander shook his head with a smile and a chuckle.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Alexander asked and Thomas gave a quick look outside the barred window. It was still the middle of the night and Thomas frowned at the moon, which was very much full that night, which in turn meant that James would be watching the world carefully.

"We should wait until daybreak. I don't want James to ask questions and during the day we would be less suspicious if we're a tad loud, which my fire is bound to be. Besides, I am sure Aaron would like to rest. I heard your day was quite exhausting? You should sleep and rest, dear Aaron," Thomas reasoned and while Alexander almost protested, he could see his point. He didn't want James to be on their backs and perhaps alarm other gods that Aaron is outside the palace and they could easily attack him. Although, if every god immediately fell for Aaron like Thomas and Hercules, even though he is a Muse, did, then he would have little to fear anymore. Except maybe gods trying to flirt with him, but that is just about the least awful thing a god can do to a mortal. 

"Alright, I agree. We should all rest then. But I think you two should get to stay in a different room. There are no guest rooms, but two servants died recently and their chambers are vacant until they get around to hire new ones. You should use those rooms. They're one floor below us," Aaron said and Thomas looked almost as though he wanted to protest, but couldn't muster up the voice or will to disagree with Aaron. He and Hercules nodded and reluctantly left the room without making a fuss. After they left Alexander began giggling and laughing madly and Aaron joined him in it.

"D-did you _see_ their faces! They were absolutely out of it! They were so enamoured and entranced by you! Why, I bet they're ten feet deep in love!" Alexander giggled madly and held his stomach, while Aaron leaned onto him, unable to hold himself in laughter.

"I know! Whatever I say, they'll just eat it right up! I don't know whether to feel bad for using this to make them help us, or feel pity for them because they're so incredibly blinded by love!" Aaron agreed and Alexander calmed down slightly and snorted.

"Pray tell, how did you do that? I know your beauty takes one's breath right away, but I'm not madly in love with you and was sure not at first sight!" Alexander scoffed and Aaron mock-gasped.

"You _aren't_ in love with me? All these years I thought that you and I- But no! It appears I was fooled by you sharing a bed with me and being close to me, warming me with promises of freedom on those coldest of nights! Oh, it seems I am still just a foolish mortal who had his heart toyed with by a god!" he gasped and dramatically threw himself on the other half of the bed and pretended to be mortally wounded, "Oh, how my heart churns and yearns, but shall never be relieved! The one whom I love doth not then love me back? Oh woe! Pierced was my heart by the dagger of love, yet please pierce my heart, oh dagger of death!"

Alexander clapped slowly and Aaron grinned at him and snorted.

"Amazing performance. I see you have practised your acting in my absence?" he asked amused and lied down right next to Aaron who then snuggled into him for comfort.

"Well, I've nothing else to do when you are, by chance, not in my immediate reach. It gets lonely without you, and you know it, don't you dare lie. And to relieve that loneliness I talk to the air. You know, because of that sense of familiarity," he grinned cheekily at Alexander who burst out laughing.

"You're a cheeky little bugger, aintcha!" he said loudly and climbed atop Aaron, slightly startling him, but he kept grinning up at Alexander.

"What are you gonna do about it?" he replied, giggling and Alexander grinned widely and leaned down quickly.

"How about _this_!" he said and kissed all over Aaron's face sloppily and saying 'muah!' with every kiss. Aaron yelped and giggled and laughed loudly, trying to avoid the attack of kisses, but Alexander was always quicker, even catching Aaron's mouth a number of times. But sometimes Aaron was fast enough to just barely avoid his face being kissed, but Alexander decided then to attack his neck in retaliation. Aaron yelped in surprise but kept giggling madly as he then tried to push Alexander off of him. Alexander, being a god, after all, did not let this perturb him and continued to shower Aaron in sloppy kisses until he was breathless and blushing madly from laughter. He finally allowed Aaron to push him off but Aaron just rolled on top of Alexander and whispered 'payback time' as he then began attacking Alexander with kisses and nuzzles all over his face and neck. Even though Alexander could easily have pushed Aaron off he let himself be attacked by this shower of affection and laughed and played along. It ended with them lying next to each other again, completely breathless and flushed a deep red each.

They were silent for a while, calming down from the fun they'd just had and grinning until Aaron disturbed the silence quietly.

"Alexander, were you born? How are gods created? Or are they?" he asked and Alexander had to think about it for a second.

"Hmm... I don't think I was really born like how you mean it, but I know that it is certainly possible. I don't remember not existing, but I don't think that I was always there," Alexander answered after half a minute of thinking about it. Aaron nodded at him and a few minutes of silence between them passed before Aaron opened his mouth again.

"Can a mortal become a god?" he asked and Alexander looked at him with a brow raised in confusion, "Can a mortal be turned into a god or somehow... _earn_ becoming a god? Is that possible? Has that ever happened?"

Alexander looked at the ceiling, there was a beautiful painting painted onto it of some waterfall and forest. He turned to Aaron again and nodded.

"It has happened, but there was always a god who turned them into a god. I think it was after doing something for them that the god thought no mortal could accomplish. Apparently, gods don't like being proven wrong so they turn the mortal into a god to somehow prove they were right because now this mortal's a god. Awful logic, I know, but it's their reasoning behind it," Alexander explained and Aaron hummed.

"I see..." he responded and yawned. He crawled over to the pillows and pulled the blankets over himself. Alexander followed quickly and crawled under the blankets behind Aaron and put an arm him and pulled him close and nuzzled into his head. In a silent agreement, they dozed off together and promptly fell asleep in each others' arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this chapter might suggest the opposite, Alexander and Aaron are just friends. Very, very, _very_ physically comfortable around each other, but still just see each other as platonic partners for life. They're just incredibly attached to each other, but feel no romantic or sexual attraction towards each other.  
>  Still hope you guys will come back for the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flaaaaaashbaaaaaack

The next morning Aaron's eyes fluttered open to the soft light of the sun shining through the bars on his window into his face. The sun's light was incredibly soft, not a harsh glare as it usually was during summer, even during summer mornings. It was pleasant, but Aaron felt as though something was wrong somehow. Something was wrong somehow. He slightly lifted his head, careful not to move too quickly or too harshly as to not wake Alexander up. Thomas stood in front of his window with a hand lifted to about chest level and glowing a soft gold. Aaron looked at him with a confused, half asleep stare and studied him for a moment. only now Aaron really noticed the odd-looking robe the god was wearing. It was cut in such a way that most of his back was exposed and Aaron noticed something like a tattoo. He blinked and shook his head and looked again.

 _Did that thing just move?_ Aaron's eyes widened and he was immediately fully awake. He stared again and sure enough, the tattoo was in constant movement. It was a sun with an intricate, very detailed pattern inside and around, which was in slow but sure movement, turning in a circle. Aaron's mouth fell slightly agape in confusion and he slowly and carefully removed himself from out of Alexander's arms and chest. From the new angle, he could see some of Thomas' face, which was flushed red and frozen in a forced, focused glare at the sun. His left hand was stuck in a stiff fist and his brows furrowed strongly. A soft growl escaped his throat, barely passing the deep scowl on his lips. Whatever he had been doing, he seemed to be done and relaxed his features a bit. His hand stopped glowing its soft gold and Aaron barely heard a soft sigh from his as Thomas let his head drop a bit and he rubbed at his temples. Aaron looked him up and down, noticing the lack of footwear and the high amount of golden bracelets, everywhere on his body. The golden bracelets were placed neatly everywhere in odd, but beautiful, entrancing patterns, winding up and down Thomas' arms. All of the god's jewellery was gold, no gemstones. Aaron suddenly felt uncomfortable. He was born into a rather poor family and was taught from day one to appreciate everything in life that he was given or earned himself. He gave a quick look around. The room was perfectly beautiful, perfection from the ceiling to the floor, and so was every other room or hallway within the palace walls. He never appreciated anything given to him by any human after he was brought to the palace. He didn't like to think about the day he was 'discovered'.

_It was a winter day and he had been sent into the town to try to get a good deal on wool for firewood so that his grandmother could make blankets and clothing from it. He sighed. The firewood on his back was so heavy and the winter wind was so harsh against his freezing body. It didn't help much that he didn't have any footwear and countless holes in his already worn-thin clothes. The market was half empty; not a promising sight and Aaron cursed with gritted teeth. The snow stopped falling about an hour ago, which had prompted Aaron to try to go to the marketplace to get the wool. Luckily the woman selling the wool was at her usual place. A smile dared to show itself on his shivering and blue face as he approached the woman._

_"Good day to you, Miss," he did a short bow of his head and the woman eyed him with suspicious eyes, "I'd like to trade wood for wool, please."_

_"I hardly got a use for wood, boy," she spat and Aaron swallowed hard._

_"Please, Miss, please trade with me your wool for firewood, Miss. The winter will become unbearably cold, Miss. And the wood you have might run low in the middle, Miss. You'll be happy you have more," he insisted, but the woman just scoffed._

_"How much wood you got?" she asked._

_"Fifty pounds, Miss. Enough to get through half a winter, Miss," he said with confidence and the woman looked him over a few times and sighed._

_"Load 'em off here, boy," she pointed to the ground next to her and Aaron nodded with a bright smile and a sigh of relief, "I'll give ya then enough to cover it. You, boy, you're lucky you got that pretty face one wants to do things for. Otherwise you family would not have survived any winter."_

_Aaron nodded and loaded off the heavy firewood from his back onto the space the woman pointed to. She regarded him with an odd look and pushed a lot of wool towards him and Aaron's smile of relief was so bright, it seemed to brighten this absolutely dreary day. Suddenly, two horses with cloaked figures on their backs rode into the marketplace and threw over baskets and tables and almost hit Aaron who yelped as he jumped behind the table with the woman who screeched and threw herself over Aaron to protect him from the two riders._

_The horses stopped right in front of them. The woman and Aaron stared at them with wide, terrified, frightened eyes. Aaron was shivering from both the cold and absolute horror at the sight above him. The figures on the horses were clad in purple and gold and he completely shrunk in on himself in their presence. The men looked down at him, one glaring at the woman and the other looking at Aaron with wide, entranced eyes. This man slowly, and with impossible elegance, got off of his horse and took a step towards the cowering two._

_"You. Get up, I want to see your face," the young man said with a stern gentleness in his voice as he intently stared at Aaron with awe in his eyes. Aaron was confused and terrified and almost jumped up at the order. The woman was cowering right behind him now, not daring to look either at him or the young man in front of him. Aaron gulped and looked at the ground and did not dare to look the young man, who was eight inches taller than him, in the eye. The young man suddenly cupped Aaron's face and softly, horribly gently, made him look at him. The young man's face was incredibly close to him now. His eyes were full of awe and amazement and Aaron had never been more confused or terrified in his entire life._

_"You're the most beautiful thing I have ever seen..." he muttered breathlessly and Aaron's brows furrowed in confusion, "No, no, please. Don't frown, don't fear. Please, smile for me. I promise to you, I'll do anything to make you happy. You must be made happy. You must be a god's descendant. I'll worship even the ground upon which you stand, but please, please, come with me. I'll make you happy, I'll do anything to keep you happy!"_

_To say that Aaron was absolutely shocked by that desperately toned exclamation and proclamation would be more than a bold understatement. His mouth fell slightly agape in shock and the young man shook his head furiously._

_"No, no, no. Please, I beg of you, don't frown, don't ever be unhappy. Don't ever be unhappy, please!" the young man insisted and Aaron was not sure what he should or could have done otherwise, so he simply closed his mouth again, gulped, and pushed forward the smallest, shiest of smiles he could muster. The young man's face brightened and beamed and an excited laughter bubbled out of him and he turned to his companion._

_"We found a god's descendant, Peter! We found a descendant of the gods!" he exclaimed with such happiness, that his immediate surroundings seemed to brighten with it. His companion, a man who seemed much older than him looked at Aaron with awe in his eyes, but the rest of his body portraying complete and utter indifference._

_"Young King, you mustn't touch him. With a face and body as he has I could see him being... 'popular' amongst the wanting. Beautiful or not, he is not worth your time," the man stated with a snarl and Aaron looked at him offended and insulted. How could he just take one look at him and assume such a horrid thing of him?!_

_"A GOD not worth my time?! And how DARE you even IMPLY such a thing about him?! I should have you beheaded for that alone!" the young man, the young KING, yelled at him and the other flinched away. Aaron gasped as he realized just who exactly was in front of him. He had assumed by the clothing that it was only a high noble, not the actual KING of the kingdom! He immediately shrunk in on himself and the young king noticed immediately and glared at his companion. "See what you've done now!" he yelled and turned back to Aaron with a sympathetic smile, "Don't worry, love, don't worry yourself none. I'll keep you safe, I'll keep and make you happy. I'll give you everything you could ever want. I'll make you a king; a king at my side."_

"A-aaron? For how long have you been awake for?" Thomas ripped him out of the flashback and Aaron shook his head.

"No idea. I saw you standing there with your hand glowing golden and I noticed your tattoo. It's... neat, but... Well, I assume it is but is it normal for tattoos on gods to be in perpetual movement?" he asked and scratched an itch at the back of his head, feeling some of his robe slide off his shoulder, exposing it and he heard Thomas sharply take in a breath. Aaron had to suppress a smirk at the knowledge that whatever he did, the god would be hyperaware of it.

"I-it is completely normal. We have these tattoos from the moment we... exist. It tells us and others what our purpose is; who we are," Thomas explained with flushed cheeks. Aaron raised a brow and cocked his head to the side.

"What do Alexander's tattoos look like? You can see him, can you describe them to me?" Aaron asked but Thomas frowned at the request.

"Alexander... doesn't have many tattoos anymore..." Thomas silently said and Aaron's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Anymore? Not many? Please do explain what you mean by that?" Aaron requested and Thomas looked genuinely uncomfortable.

"Well, um... Alexander once had... many, _many_ tattoos. His whole body was covered in them. His tattoos depicted winds and storms and clouds and lightning and... I can't even remember what all of them were! But I do remember that the wind was depicted in thin, extremely thin lines that ran all over his body, except his face. No tattoo is ever on a god's face except that of the god of Death - his tattoo is a tear always falling from his eye. But on Alexander, his tattoo moved quickly, rapidly and in unclear or even non-existent patterns all over his body! And the clouds would wander and dissipate and form into storm clouds and then there were tornados and hurricanes and tsunamis and snow storms and- Oh there were so many things on him!" Thomas smiled brightly at the memory, "I used to stare endlessly at his tattoos because unlike those of other gods, his tattoos told unpredictable stories! Oh, I remember, there were some houses and huts and palaces on his skin, which the storms and hurricanes and tsunamis and winds would sometimes destroy, or just move the plants around them. Oh, it was great!"

"Then... what is left of them now?" Aaron was hesitant to ask this, but he felt this was a question that was necessary to ask and wonder about. He was worried about his friend. Thomas' smile deflated and fell to the ground with a crash and his face turned forlorn and solemn.

"Only... Only a few lines of wind and one cloud is left... hardly a storm ever appears on his skin and... I think I saw some lines disappear..." Thomas looked to the ground. Aaron looked to the dip in the mattress beside him. Alexander was still sound asleep and Aaron's gaze turned worried and somewhat angry as he turned back to look Thomas dead in the eye.

"What is left of _him_ now?"


	8. Chapter 8

"What?" Thomas asked, taken aback.

"Alexander is dead. He's been dead for centuries. He told me once that he is now only half of who he used to be, and is now half the very thing he controls, that being wind," he spoke and his voice became softer, "I am very concerned and worried about him, Thomas. How much time does he have left until he disappears." It didn't sound like a question, more like solemn resignation.

"I... I don't think he will disappear, Aaron," Thomas tried to smile encouragingly, but Aaron didn't buy it for a second, "He'll... definitely outlive you, don't worry."

"Then, Thomas, I shall ask you, and later Hercules, a favour."

"Anything!" Thomas replied a bit too eagerly and Aaron gave Alexander a last solemn look.

"When I'm dead and gone... I want you to stay with Alexander. Stay with him regardless of what may happen and make sure that he is properly worshipped and regains his power and former self and status. I want to die with the knowledge that Alexander will be cared for. I have never, since my arrival at this palace, cared for anything or anyone more than him. I adore him, we adore each other and up until recently... we only had each other... And I know that Alexander will outlive me, especially since I won't always stay with him in his palace in your realm, where I would be immortal as long as I were there. I want to build him a temple and gather a group that would worship him and would grow over time, so I will have to stay here, in this realm and... I will age... And I will die," Aaron spoke with no fear in his voice, as though he had long come to terms with and accepted that this was how it would all end, "When I'm dead and gone, I want you to stay with Alexander and make him happy. Make him the happiest creature of any realm and don't you dare ever let him become unhappy if he doesn't need to be."

"Of course! But... What do you mean to let him be unhappy when he needs to be?" Thomas exclaimed and wondered. Aaron glanced back at Alexander, who was now stirring and would soon wake up.

"He'll need to mourn me... And Thomas, make sure that he knows I will have died with only him on my mind," Aaron spoke and Thomas nodded, silently watching Alexander stir awake.

"I just had the oddest dream!" Alexander exclaimed, sleep-drunken.

"Oh? Pray tell," Aaron replied with a smile and snuggled closer to him again. Thomas' stomach churned at the sight and a jealous flush came over his cheeks.

"I was in a school, I believe, and there was a show going on? Anyway, this one guy had a magic, poison arrow in his hand and pointed it at these two people he wanted dead or something, and this GIANT spider came and killed and I think ate them. But because this guy didn't specify that the spider was only supposed to kill these two, the spider began attacking, killing and eating pairs of people. It soon became a rule that no one was allowed to walk in pairs, always in a group of three minimum or alone. People who still, stupidly enough, decided they weren't afraid of the spider and walked in pairs were bullied and beaten by people in groups who saw them! And I was totally afraid, even though I was only ever alone because I had this weird device that made sounds like a person? And I was afraid that this counted as another person by me, thus making us a pair, and that the spider would come and kill me! That was so weird?" Alexander lengthily explained and Aaron softly chuckled at him.

"I don't suppose that was the oddest dream you've ever had, now was it?" Aaron asked with an amused smile and Alexander shook his head. Alexander seemed to remember something else now.

"That wasn't the only dream I had! The other one was... I don't like it. I was me, sort of, but... I couldn't see anything and I couldn't move. But I could hear things... I think I heard you, Thomas and Hercules, and... someone whose voice I hadn't heard in centuries? I... I was trapped... I was trapped and I couldn't move or see or smell or touch anything... But I could hear you guys... And you were... And I was filled with so much anger at whoever trapped me and... I disappeared... Into nothing... I was nothing anymore..." Alexander said and Aaron's smile fell and he snuggled even closer to Alexander in comfort.

"I won't let anyone trap you, ever. Don't you worry, Alexander," Aaron whispered soothingly into his ear and Alexander found himself smiling again.

"Thanks for your concern, Aaron. Let's get up, shall we? Do you know if Th-... Thomas?" Alexander spotted Thomas at the window, "How long have _you_ been awake for?" Thomas smiled sheepishly at him and Alexander ignored the jealous look in his eyes.

"Oh, you know, I just did my job from here to raise the sun. I don't believe I've ever done it from anywhere but the sun before... It was more difficult than I'm used to..." he admitted and scratched his head, "Hercules is still asleep, though."

"At least you still got a job to return to," Alexander mused with a grin. There was no malice in his tone, but Thomas couldn't help but flinch back at the words.

"I-" Thomas didn't even know what to reply to that, but thankfully didn't have to as the door to the room opened and Hercules entered. Thomas expected him to look tired beyond belief because Hercules had spent most of the night awake and writing poetry, but Hercules' eyes were wide and wide awake, with his face contorted in a worried scowl.

"Hercules? What's wrong?" Aaron asked and Hercules looked at him with deep worry and guilt in his eyes.

"Well, uh... Here's the thing... There is this king who... wants to marry you..." Hercules hesitated but knew there was no other way around it. Thomas' brows furrowed while Alexander raised a brow and Aaron's look screamed _Please don't mean who I think you mean, please don't mean who I think you mean_.

"So? No one has ever been able to even ask for his hand. The people of this kingdom have fought wars to keep him here, Hercules," Alexander said nonchalantly but noticed how Aaron was very close to having a nervous breakdown, "Aaron, what's wrong?"

"What day is it?" Aaron asked, gripping tightly at his own upper arms to try and ground himself.

"It's... the fortieth day of summer... Your birthday is very soon, in three days. Why?" Alexander answered and Aaron's eyes widened in fear.

"H-hercules, how do you know of this?" Aaron asked and Alexander and Thomas looked at him in confusion.

"I gave him inspiration for a poem in a letter to you... that he intends to marry you..." Hercules said hesitantly and Aaron nodded.

"Can you, perchance, recite the poem?" Aaron requested and Hercules nodded.

" _Upon a dreary day of cold,_  
Yes, I remember, young and bold  
I found you cowering beneath my gaze  
A perfect, beautiful, god-like face  
I gave you my word, a promise true  
That for years I'd wait and fight for you  
Until the time would finally arrive  
To bring you to a better live  
I promised I would make you a king  
By my side, just for me you'll sing  
I shall arrive in one swift day  
To make you happy for the rest of your days" Hercules recited easily and a stabbing shiver ran down Aaron's spine at the words as he nodded.

"It's him... It _is_ him," he muttered to himself, cursing under his breath and trembling strongly.

" _Him_? Aaron?" Alexander asked, confused. Aaron looked up at him, tears pricking at his eyes.

"It's the king, Alexander. The king that discovered me when I was twelve. He had this palace built for me, and he said... No, he _promised_ he would marry me a-and... and make me a king... with him, but... Alexander, I _hate_ him, and you know that!" Aaron exclaimed and Alexander's eyes widened in recognition and realization.

"Th-... _THAT_ BASTARD?!" Alexander exclaimed with fury in his eyes as he jumped up and floated in the air.

"Wait, I thought you were brought here when you were fourteen?" Thomas asked, thoroughly confused.

"I was brought here when I was fourteen. The building of this palace took only two years and the king found me when I was twelve..." Aaron muttered and looked away, another stabbing shiver running down his spine at the thought of the king.

"And he wants to marry you... And your people let him?" Thomas asked, even more confused.

"He's the one who found me and... he's the king of this country, so the people would not lose me. He is the only one they would let me be married to and... I hate him. I absolutely hate him!" Aaron yelled and terrified tears ran down his cheeks and Alexander flitted down to comfort him.

"Wh-why do you hate him?" Thomas asked and Aaron's trembling stilled for a second, before picking up considerably as more tears fell from his eyes. Aaron couldn't muster up a response, so Alexander decided to speak for him.

"He had his family executed when he found out how poor they were and how they couldn't properly provide for Aaron," Alexander explained and Thomas' eyes widened with shock and disgust, his mouth agape. Thomas could barely bring himself to speak, but the fury in his eyes spoke novels of his hatred and intense urge and wish to bring upon this king every disease known to humans and gods and make him suffer and have him tortured for all of the rest of eternity.

"Thomas, calm down, your hair is on fire," Hercules told him sternly and Thomas touched his hair to notice, yes, it was indeed on fire. He grumbled as he forced himself to calm down and stop the rest of his body from catching on fire and burn down the entire palace and everything inside to a crisp.

"What do we do now? Do we just... get away?" Thomas asked, almost in a hiss, not yet calm enough for his voice to be normal.

"He will be here shortly, he wrote the thing yesterday evening and it will arrive in one hour, which means the king himself will be here in the afternoon which is... In three hours. Thomas, I know you are very powerful, but with how strong the spell on this palace is I don't think you'll be able to destroy it fast enough," Hercules said through gritted teeth.

"Shit."

"You can say that again," Hercules hissed.

"Dammit, what do we now?" Alexander threw his arms into the air.

"We're gods! Can't we just kill him!" Thomas exclaimed, but Alexander shook his head.

"That dumbass has no heir; if we kill him the kingdom will be in utter chaos for decades! Hundreds, thousands of people will die if we kill that guy," Alexander groaned at the ceiling and buried his face in his hands, "And I'm sure none of us wants Lafayette to be more pissed off at his work and everyone around him because of it, no less me or Aaron."

"But we have to be able to do _something_! We can't just do _nothing_ and have Aaron be married to a man he hates!" Thomas exclaimed, "We're _gods_ for goodness sake!"

"You're the only actual god of us, Thomas. I'm dead and Hercules is a muse," Alexander corrected.

"OH, WHO CARES!" Thomas yelled in frustration. All the while Hercules had a contemplative and thoughtful frown on his face and he now opened his mouth to speak again.

"Thomas, start working on breaking the spell on the palace. Alexander, try to find the king and delay his arrival. Aaron, pack your things you want to take with you, I'll help," he ordered everyone who simply stilled to look at him and nodded and immediately went to work.

Thomas' entire body began to glow and his eyes closed in deep concentration as he held his hands out and pressed them to the wall in front of him. The wall he touched soon began to glow with him and the glow travelled slowly long the room. Alexander conjured up the seeing crystal he had made for Aaron and held it in front of his eye, searching around the city and farther for the king and, when he finally found an entourage that befitted a king of the kingdom, he flitted out of the barred window and let his strongest and fastest winds carry him in the direction of the king's entourage. Aaron and Hercules began carrying a few bags Hercules had brought with him from one of the servants' rooms to the bed and putting clothing and other items Aaron had grown to call his own into them, which did not take up too much of their time.

Alexander rushed past houses and huts and trees and animals, moving everything not too heavy to be moved by his winds. His winds picked up even more as he saw the entourage of the king and his winds, and himself hit the entire entourage in under ten seconds. The men and women of the entourage yelped upon the sudden harsh winds that moved the carriage and almost tipped it over, eliciting a crying yelp from inside the carriage and obnoxious neighing from the horses. Alexander let his winds carry his ominous laughter to the ears of the entourage and the people stilled. Suddenly, there came an angry voice from inside the carriage.

"WHO TIPPED OVER MY CARRIAGE!" the king yelled at his servants and they cowered before him.

"The wind!" they all cried in unison, but the king did not believe them and ordered one of his guards to kill the servant who was closest to his carriage. Alexander flinched back and cursed under his breath. He'd have to be more careful. He breathed in the air around him and blew it out again, creating a ton of clouds that became darker the more he blew on them. The servants and guards immediately took notice of it and warned the king that a storm was about to strike. The king, however, just laughed at them for their fear and told them to get moving again. The servants hesitantly made the entourage move again. Alexander grinned and conjured up his hurricane spear. It was old and weakened by the lack of worship and cracked here and there, but Alexander figured it would work for his purposes.

He floated above the entourage and took in a deep breath and closed his eyes and held out the hurricane spear in front of him. The clouds he created above him began to swirl around the tip of the spear ominously as lightning crashed out of the clouds in every direction with thunder immediately following and the entourage below him cried out in horror. Alexander hummed and conjured up a phial with divine water in it and he let one drop fall onto the swirling clouds. Suddenly, the clouds began raining profusely and harshly and his winds picked up around the carriage especially. He directed his hurricane spear towards the carriage and made lightning hit a spot right next to it. The thunder roared and overrode the collective screams of the entourage. Alexander laughed at their fear and struck the same spot with lightning three more times, each time eliciting screams and cries and prayers from the servants and guards to the gods which made his grin become even wider.

Though his little fun was soon interrupted by a loud yell above him. He looked up and spotted the moon was barely visible in the sky. Alexander raised a brow. Seeing the moon in the sky during the day wasn't too rare an occurrence, however, the yell that came from it was more than worrisome. And indeed, much to Alexander's dismay, James, the god of the moon stepped down from it and towards Alexander with quick steps upon the light.

"Stop that immediately!" James yelled at him and struck Alexander on the head with his staff, which disoriented Alexander and almost made him drop the hurricane spear.

"OW! What gives?!" he yelled back and James just scoffed at him.

"How dare you frighten and attack these mortals so! They haven't done you any harm!" James exclaimed and Alexander rolled his eyes.

"Amazing. I'm in tears. You've shown me the way, o great god of the moon," he bowed dramatically and James looked at him in confusion. Alexander took this moment to swing his spear at James' feet and sweep him off them which made the other god fall about five hundred feet to the ground with a satisfying crash. Alexander smiled victoriously down at James and raised his spear to concentrate the winds and lightning around the carriage again.

Suddenly, everything was too bright to see anything for a second and when Alexander opened his eyes again he noticed that James had hit him with a blast of light from his staff and he grumbled in annoyance.

"Seriously?! Why do you care?!" he yelled at James, raising his spear at him and aiming the next few rounds of lightning at him, which James only barely ever dodged and was hit by a number of times.

"Ugh, because you are going to kill them at this rate! That king down there doesn't have an heir! If you kill him-" James yelled but Alexander interrupted him.

"Nag, nag, nag, doesn't have an heir, kingdom will fall into chaos and despair, blah, blah, blah! _I'm aware!_ " he spat with venom dripping from every word.

"Then why are you attacking them?! Just for the heck of it?!" James spat back and Alexander shrugged his shoulders and struck one of the horses with mild lightning, not quite killing it, but making it fall unconscious and stopping the entourage entirely.

"Yes! Nice shot!" Alexander celebrated and James hit his head with his staff again and Alexander yelped again.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" James screeched at Alexander who only groaned in annoyance.

"I'm kinda busy, so if we could delay this little fight to some other time, that'd be fan-fucking-tastic, James," Alexander rolled his eyes at the other god whose face flushed in anger.

" _BUSY?!_ " James screeched at him and Alexander simply nodded, " You little shit, YOU JUST ATTACK THEM FOR NO REASON?!"

"Yes, the trickster god of wind, storms and so on and so on, everything bad, dead god, blah blah blah, cannot possibly have a reason for attacking a king and his entourage, obviously. Duh. I only do this for shits and giggles and- Ah, fuck!" he complained and struck a wheel of the carriage with lightning when he found the king had ordered for the horse to be killed and thrown to the side of the street and wanted to move on, "Humans these days. This is obviously screaming 'don't push forward, you've got a god going against you'. Seriously!"

"Is that ALL you ever care about!? Only yourself, at all times?!" James accused and Alexander growled at him.

"I have never cared about myself. Less these days than I ever have. Go back to your moon, James. This is none, absolutely _none_ of your business," Alexander snapped and James' eyes turned red with absolute fury and he expertly swung his staff violently at Alexander who blocked the attacks with his spear and dodged some of the harder blows. James began blasting pure moonlight at him and Alexander returned the favour by throwing James backwards with harsh winds and it him with lightning so hard he knocked him out of the sky and to the ground. James struggled for a second to get up again, but threw his staff at Alexander's head, right between the eyes when he did. Alexander yelped and glared at James and took in a deep, sharp breath and quickly blew out the thickest clouds he could with his weakened power and engulfed James in it who now couldn't see anything around him. James spotted a shadow not far from him and hit it with a harsh beam from his staff, but screamed in frustration when he found it was simply a tree and not his intended target, Alexander.

"SHOW YOURSELF YOU DAMN COWARD!" he screeched into the clouds which suddenly grew darker and James' eyes widened and suddenly he was hit all around by lighting, deafening thunder roaring into his ears and he fell to the ground, heavily covering his ears and attempting to crawl out of the clouds, but not finding an exit anywhere.

Alexander cursed under his breath when he noticed how the entourage had already moved way ahead of him and he groaned in annoyance and flitted after them with his spear pointed angrily at them and blindly hitting at the carriage with lightning, startling the other horses into uncooperation.

"OOOHHHH!! Perfect shot!" he exclaimed in triumph and fist-bumped the air. He heard yelling come from the carriage, the king was complaining why they stopped again and his servants desperately tried to explain to him that the horses were startled by the lightning, of which he would have none of and ordered for the servants to set the horses free and take their place instead. Alexander's eye twitched in anger and frustration and he yelled out. "OH, COME _ON_!"

The servants, under violent force of the guards, were put in place of the horses to pull the carriage in their place. Alexander growled and lifted his spear again and before the servants could make their first steps he shot lightning right in front of them, startling even the king.  
The king glared angrily at the dark clouds above them but stopped when he found an opening in the clouds through which he could see the moon, which made him grin. He yelled out to his servants and to his guards that if they love their life and don't want to be beheaded they will immediately ray to the god of the moon to guide them safely through the thunderstorm, which made Alexander flinch and curse.

Out of the black clouds on the ground behind him suddenly came a bright light, cutting through his clouds with ease. James ran up to him they began their fight anew, with Alexander at a considerable disadvantage now. James got in a hit more often than not and was able to dodge Alexander's hits easily, which frustrated Alexander endlessly. Suddenly, James was able to grab Alexander's spear from and Alexander watched helplessly as James snapped the spear with one hand like it was nothing more but a toothpick as he glared down at Alexander and struck him with his staff and a powerful beam of light at the same time, knocking him out of the sky. Alexander crashed to the ground and his body refused to get up again. James got down from the sky and put his foot on Alexander's face and pressed down hard. Alexander let out a pained groan and James glared at him repulsed and disgusted.

Alexander looked on in defeat as the entourage was able to move on undisturbed now, pulled by the servants, lashed with whips painfully cracking on their backs or in the air. He winced every time he heard the crack of the whip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually did have the spider dream Alexander described int this...


	9. Chapter 9

Aaron looked at Thomas, who was glowing brighter and brighter by the minute and it began hurting his eyes the more he looked at him. Now the entire room was glowing brightly as he and Hercules continued packing his things. Curiously, Aaron walked over to the barred window to see if he could see the king or any sign of Alexander. He didn't have to look for too long to find dark clouds and lightning in the distance and the lightning hitting one spot on the ground a number of times. Aaron smiled, Alexander had always been a great distraction in every sense of the word. Aaron turned away from the window and went back to the bed to put a silk pillow, his favourite, into a bag, not noticing how behind him the clouds quickly disappeared.

"Ah, Hercules, I wanted to ask a favour of you," Aaron suddenly remembered and Hercules looked up at him from under the bed where Alexander had smuggled some books from the library to.

"Sure, go ahead," Hercules said and pushed himself back under the bed to look at more of the books.

"When I die," he paused and Hercules noticeably flinched and hit his head on the bed above him in surprise, "When I die I want you, and Thomas, I want you two to care for Alexander and I want you to make him happy. Make him the happiest creature of any realm and don't ever let him be unhappy if he doesn't need to be... He'll have to mourn me, but that is the only unhappiness I will allow for him. Do you understand, Hercules?"

"O-of course! I-... I'll never leave Alexander. And I'm sure Thomas won't either... But... you do know that if you lived in the gods' realm you'll be immortal, right?" Hercules tried but Aaron shook his head.

"I won't permanently live in the gods' realm, Hercules. When I'm out of here I'll keep my promise to Alexander. I'll build him a temple and gather a group of people to worship him. I will not be able to stay with him, which is why I'm asking you, and earlier Thomas, to stay with him for eternity because you _have_ an eternity to stay with him... And I... I haven't..." Aaron sighed and crawled under the bed with Hercules, grabbing two books and pushing them from under the bed.

"It... doesn't have to be you to build the temple or stay in it..." Hercules tried again but Aaron just sighed and shook his head again.

"It's my promise, Hercules. Perhaps I could return to Alexander every once in a while, or he visits me... But I will have to stay more in this realm than in the other. It is not natural for me to live for that long..." Aaron spoke solemnly, "It's something I and Alexander have accepted a long time ago."

Hercules frowned but nodded in agreement. He didn't like the thought of Aaron dying one day, it was a horrid thought indeed but he told himself that it was bound to happen at some point. Aaron was a mortal human being, something in his life will end up ending his life, be it his natural lifespan and old age, or something even more out of his control. An accident, a murder, a god striking him with a curse. Really, anything could happen to him to kill him, and it was inevitable. Aaron did not want to be immortal it seemed, at least not if he was sure that Thomas and Hercules would care for Alexander like he would. But Hercules still found it unfair.

"I can't give him the eternity he deserves while keeping my promise..." Aaron muttered to himself, barely audible to Hercules' ears and Hercules looked at him with pity in his eyes. these words weren't meant to be heard by him, so Hercules didn't reply to them, but continued looking through the books, occasionally sneezing at the dust on some of them. Aaron crawled back out from under the bed and carried the books to the bags and neatly placed them inside, closing this bag as it was now full and would otherwise be too heavy to carry.

Aaron sighed again, looking at one of the books Alexander had stolen for him from a foreign country. It was in a language he hadn't ever heard before, but Alexander had taught him quickly all about the language, the culture and the country it came from. It was a lovely time when he learned all about it and he often imagined being in that country and living there, finally in peace. He smiled when he suddenly realized, he was so, so close to that. He was so close to being free. All it would take now was for Thomas to break the spell and break the walls for him to finally escape his golden cage. Then Hercules would make him invisible and Alexander would carry him to the realm of the gods to stay for as long as it took for people to forget about his existence. Then he would be able to finally make good on his promise to Alexander, build him the temple, get him worshipped again and help him regain his former form, self and status amongst the gods. There was nothing in life he wanted more, truly nothing more.

Aaron looked out of his window again, Thomas somewhere to his left and Aaron was sure he would shine like the sun itself in a few minutes and he would not be able to see anything. He let his gaze wander over the landscape with a happy sigh until he suddenly noticed and realized that all the black clouds had disappeared. His eyes widened as he spotted the entourage, not two miles and he yelped and jumped back in fright. Hercules came out from under the bed and looked at him in confusion.

"He's no two miles away from us! Hercules, he's here earlier than you thought! Where is Alexander?" Aaron yelped, panicked. He picked up the seeing crystal from where Alexander had dropped it on the floor and looked through it, trying to find his best friend. He couldn't see him properly through even the crystal, but he could always make out a silhouette of the dead god. He gasped as he found him, laying on the ground and above him- he gasped. The crystal told him it was a god above him, pressing his foot down on Alexander's head and snarling at him with a repulsed and disgusted look in his eyes. Hercules was at his side immediately. "There's a god!"

Aaron handed Hercules the seeing crystal and Hercules took it and looked through it, finding Alexander and the god easily. He gasped as he saw how beaten up Alexander was and how James lifted his staff to beat down on Alexander again.

Alexander growled under James' foot and saw in his peripheral vision how James lifted his staff to hit him one final time and incapacitate him.

"You vermin. It's a downright miracle you haven't disappeared completely by now. A nuisance too. That's all you've ever been. A pathetic, annoying, useless, idiotic, cocky nuisance!" James spat at him and Alexander sighed and rolled his eyes, though he groaned in pain just after as James pressed down even harder. He noticed he could finally move some of his body, his hands specifically, again and he suppressed a smile. "I don't know how you've managed to exist even in your death, but-"

"Yeah, it eludes me too," Alexander interrupted and groaned in pain as James kicked him right in the face and stepped on him again.

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" he yelled at Alexander who flinched at the loud volume. "If you would just disappear we wouldn't have to deal with you anymore!"

Alexander frowned at the words. They didn't affect him as much as they had when he had first died, they didn't even sting because he had heard it all before and then some. It was downright boring how they couldn't figure out better insults that actually hit their target. But it gave him an idea and he smiled pathetically up at James who glared daggers and spears at him and he chuckled.

"Alright then. You know me, I'm a people-pleaser. Just for you, I'll disappear," he said with a smile and James looked down at him in furious confusion and Alexander's smile grew into a smirk when he saw that expression on James' face. "Now you see me... Now you don't," he said and his last word turned into a hissed whisper as he turned himself into wind. James yelped and fell forward, a storm of wind all around him, pushing him to the floor and suddenly disappearing in the direction of the entourage. James looked after the wind, rather at the things being moved by rushing by them, with wide blown, red eyes in utter shock and surprise, before snarling and growling and running after him. Alexander didn't turn himself corporeal again when he arrived at the entourage, rather he pushed past the carriage and knocked the whip out of the coachman's hand and blew off his hat for good measure and forced himself so strongly against the carriage that the servants could not pull it forward.

 _Do not fight what you cannot win_ , he thought to himself as his non-corporeal form pushed against the carriage with full force. James arrived at the entourage, panting and screaming for Alexander to stop his assault on the carriage, but of course, Alexander wouldn't listen to him and just out of complete spite pushed against them with even more force than he did before, nearly tipping the carriage to fall over backwards, but not quite because he knew that would end up injuring the servants greatly, and he did not want that. He heard the king inside the carriage yelp and Alexander laughed without a sound escaping to the world around from his now barely corporeal body. He would have grinned and laughed and made fun of the yelps the king made, but it all came out soundlessly. James aimed his staff somewhere where he was sure he could hit Alexander and fired a blast that would have hit Alexander were he not concentrated just a metre beside it. Alexander paid James no mind anymore. He noticed, by the lack of reaction or attention the servants and guards gave James upon his arrival, that James had made himself invisible to the humans. He barely registered the fact as James managed to hit him where he was concentrated and blasted him into being corporeal again. Alexander cursed. Were his powers really so easily just... reversed? Was it really that simple? A single blast? Alexander grumbled to himself and barely avoided being hit by another blast.

He panted heavily. Everything hurt. Every movement he forced his body to make hurt and pained and stung, like arrows and needles being shot at him whenever he moved. James stood atop the carriage and glared down at him with red fury. Alexander could only see red in the other god's eyes and he flinched back, wincing at the pain it shot through his entire body. He fell to his knees. The carriage had stopped and the king had ordered the guards to beat the servants. Every inch of his body burned with pain as though he were the one the guards were beating down. He panted and gasped for breath, his mouth was dry and he coughed. He coughed up red clouds and stared at them in confusion and fear.

"I must admit it was odd those three centuries ago when a ripple went through the entire realm of gods. We all knew, without knowing how, that you had died. And yet... you're still here... Do tell me, how?" James mused with a glare, the red fading from his eyes and he raised his brow in intrigue. Alexander glared up at him defiantly.

"I-" he was interrupted by a dry cough and more red clouds leaving his mouth which completely dissolved after a second, "I told you," another cough, "I've no-" a cough, "No idea!" he finally yelled and James scoffed.

"You must know how you still exist. A god who died, disappears, Wind. That is why they won't be called by the name they had before, but by the name of what they ruled. Because they don't exist anymore. You... you _shouldn't_ exist anymore! You have died _three centuries ago_! Why aren't you _gone_?!" James yelled at him and Alexander stared at the ground in defeat. He knew he was defeated.

"I-" he coughed, "I don't _know_ , James! I..." he coughed, "I'm just there! I don't know anything about why I'm here!" tears pricked at his eyes and James took a step back in surprise, "I don't know anything! I don't know what my purpose here is! Look at me! Only a few lines are left on me!" he yelled, his voice desperate and tears began rolling down his eyes. James stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm only half of what or who I used to be three centuries-", he coughed, "Th-three centuries ago! I'm half gone! I am half of the wind I control! Don't you," a cough, "Worry, James. I'll be gone before you know it. I'll be gone before _I_ know it," he fell back into a coughing fit, angry despair in his eyes as more tears fell from him to the ground. He felt more lines of wind vanishing from his skin and he shivered from the feeling as he felt himself become even less than he was before. James stared at him with wide, shocked eyes and stepped down from the carriage as it began moving, still standing above the pathetically crying dead god in front of him. He was unsure of what to do because he felt it beneath him and odd if he were to comfort the dead god, who he always only ever viewed as a vermin or worm beneath his feet that he had to crush. He thought back to the spear. He had snapped it in half, crushed it between his finger, with one hand so _easily_. He had beaten Alexander so _easily_ once the entourage had prayed to him to do so. He was unsure of what to even feel as he saw the dead god break and shatter in front of him, desperation and anger in every tear and bitterness in every breath and cough. Something inside him screamed to hit him with his staff again and again until he finally disappeared like he _should_. But something else inside him held him back from doing so. Something else inside him pleaded with him to simply stand guard so that the Wind doesn't attack the entourage again and then leave him to himself.

He found himself in a perpetual battle with the two sides, neither of them strong enough to beat the other and persuade him into action. He had no other choice but to stand there confused and silent, watching Alexander cry and curl in on himself, coughing up red clouds every now and then. James frowned. The entourage began moving again and Alexander's cries seemed louder than before, even overriding the two voices inside of James. He gripped his staff tightly and his knuckles turned white as he stared at Alexander's pathetic stature. Slowly, but eventually, Alexander's crying faded away into heavy silence, only occasionally broken by coughs of red clouds. As soon as Alexander stopped, he shakily tried to stand up, wobbling on his weak knees and James took a step back and warningly pointed his staff at Alexander, who seemed to just ignore it and him as he gripped at his own shoulder tightly and began wobbling on the path behind the entourage. James grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. Alexander looked at him with tired eyes and made a weak, pathetic attempt to pull himself out of James' grip.

"Why are you even attacking them?" James asked, much softer than he ever wanted. Alexander looked oddly at him and let out a scoffed laugh.

"He's a threat to a friend of mine..." he said with a smile. James frowned.

"What friend?" he asked curiously. Alexander regarded him with an odd expression. Not much of a smile, but nothing else quite described that look properly.

"You know him as the most beautiful creature of any realm, mortal or gods. I know him as Aaron," he chuckled painfully, another coughing fit and red clouds following suite after.

Hercules looked on with fear and worry in his eyes and looked at Thomas, who was still glowing and still concentrated.

"Thomas, how long more will it take to break the spell?" he quietly asked and Thomas opened one eye at him.

"It will take three more hours, why?" he asked in return and Hercules groaned.

"Because we don't _have_ three hours! Alexander could delay them a bit, but _James_ of all people showed up and they fought and he beat Alexander! And now nothing is stopping them from coming here!" Hercules exclaimed and Aaron looked at the approaching entourage worried beyond belief.

"I give them an hour at most until they arrive here," he muttered with a whimper of fear and Hercules came to his side and hesitantly hugged him to comfort him. Aaron melted into the hug and almost began crying into Hercules' chest in fear. Hercules whispered promises into his ear, promising to keep him safe no matter what may happen. Thomas' glow intensified with the sudden new time limit nearing its end much too soon and the anger at the knowledge that James was the one to sabotage their mission. There were a few cracks in the wall in front of him, but the spell was still too strong. He'd have to weaken it more to fully break and shatter it.

Hercules looked out the window, silently praying, to whom he didn't know, that the king would not arrive as soon as Aaron had predicted. But the king and his entourage were closer and came ever closer and the closer they came the more Hercules prayed that they wouldn't. He wished that they had gone the previous night when they had plenty of time to break the spell and only the risk of James interfering, a risk he was sure Thomas could have easily diminished. He was angry at himself for not having protested like he should have. He should have known something would go entirely too wrong. Having time against you was never a good thing to have against you.

The king and his entourage were closer now. Only ten more minutes and he would be there and demand Aaron to become his and marry him. Hercules growled and snarled at the approaching entourage. He became entirely too possessive of the mortal in his arms, who now depended so entirely on him to keep him from crying and breaking down, what with Alexander hurt and so far away.


	10. Chapter 10

The king's entourage was closing in and Hercules could spot Alexander half a mile behind it, stumbling on his wobbly legs, being carefully watched by James in case he got the idea of attacking them again. Hercules was angry, furious and did not dare to show any of these emotions for fear of upsetting Aaron even more who was slowly accepting the fact that he would never be free in his entire life. Trapped forever in a golden cage, the key so close, yet just barely out of his reach, taunting him, mocking him, each time he reached for it. He had stopped reaching for it years ago. And yet... Now he had tried to reach for it again, it had looked so much closer. The key had looked so much closer, so close that he could potentially reach it, but his arms were still too short to reach it. And he could yell and scream in frustration and hate. He wanted to scream and destroy something near him, but he had not the energy to scream and was too tired to destroy. He was so, so tired.

Hercules ran a hand over his back soothingly and Aaron sighed into his chest. Aaron's thoughts began disregarding his former plans for the future and began to adapt to the current outlook on the situation. His thoughts began building a future in his head from unseen blueprints. A future depicting him at the side of a cruel king, at his complete mercy. He would have to be careful of everything he said. He knew the king wouldn't harm him in any way, shape or form, and he would not dare to speak against Aaron for fear of having angered a god, which Aaron wasn't. But he knew also that whatever he said could get him trapped in a room alone, with no windows and no sound and no books and no proper bed and- he cut off his thoughts before they wandered to his first years in the palace, where that had been used to punish him with whenever he disobeyed either the king's orders or made the servants' jobs anything but easy. He had soon learned all the unspoken rules and orders and went out of his way never to get in the way of the servants. That was the reason why the only places one would ever find him were his room, the garden in the evening or in the great hall for visiting nobles or to eat. He did not dare go to the library or wander the halls for that matter.

Aaron turned around to the window, still tightly spun in Hercules' warm embrace. He stilled completely when he couldn't find the entourage anywhere, but heard the groans of the pain of the servants which had been let go just before the palace along with the guards. Panic rose inside of him. This was the first time in years he would see the king again and he had desperately hoped that the last time he had seen him would have been the last time he'd ever see him again in his entire life, but it seemed he was entirely wrong in hoping so and he silently cursed himself for his foolishness. He clung to Hercules' chest who gladly returned the affection and held Aaron ever closer. Aaron could faintly hear the sound of shoes clicking on the floor and he knew immediately it was the king approaching his chambers, for the servants would otherwise not approach him at this time of day.

"What do we do, what do we _do_?" Aaron panicked and Hercules looked at Thomas, who would still need two hours to break the spell and destroy the walls. Thomas was still in that concentrated and somewhat angry stance, glowing ever brighter by the minute.

"Thomas, make yourself invisible!" Hercules told him and Thomas nodded briefly, spreading his arms wider and Hercules knew he was invisible to the human eye now. He turned towards the door, the footsteps ever closer now, and turned to Aaron and looked him deeply in the eyes with a flush of red on his cheeks.

"You have to distract him. Keep him from making you leave while the spell is unbroken. If you leave this palace through the front door there is nothing we can do any more from keeping him from taking you from us. I'll still be with you through all of this, but I'll make myself invisible, so don't worry," Hercules spoke quickly but as calming as possible as he stroked Aaron's cheeks, which then flushed red as well as Aaron smiled up at him.

"Will you hold my hand?" he quietly asked and Hercules was taken aback by this, but nodded quickly and took Aaron's hand in his own, promptly turning himself invisible to him. Aaron had to smile at this. Hercules' hand in his was comforting and warm and he enjoyed the feeling of it so much. He could hardly believe that these hands could write or inspire the poetry he was known for. The red warmth on his cheeks just wouldn't go away, and neither would his dreamy smile, no matter how much he rubbed at his cheeks and he could feel Hercules softly stroking the other cheek.

Suddenly, the footsteps came to a halt in front of his door and Aaron hurried to his window, Hercules following his movements easily. He positioned himself to look as though he had not moved from this spot in hours, a position he was sadly very practised in. The doors behind him opened with a loud bang as they crashed against the walls and loud footsteps came closer to him followed by an excited noise. The doors were closed behind the figure, and yet Aaron did not turn around until the king was right behind him. When he did turn around he gave the king a shy smile and looked him directly in the eye. The king gasped upon seeing Aaron for the first time in years, and his cheeks flushed a bright red from the sight.

"My dear, my dearest love! Look at yourself! Why, you are even more beautiful than on the day I found you, my love! I do apologize for not returning from the war that separated us, but now you have me back, and I you!" he gleefully smiled and came closer to Aaron and cupped his face in his hands, "How long I've yearned for this moment, my love, my sweetest, dearest love."

Suddenly, the king brought Aaron's face to his own and languidly brought their lips together in a tender kiss. Hercules' hand tightened around Aaron's and he felt the jealousy come from him in waves. Thomas was too concentrated to notice what was going on it seemed, because Aaron noticed no reaction from him and he was very skilled in reading the reactions of the invisible, thanks to Alexander; nothing escaped him, ever. Aaron felt nothing as the king kissed him, absolutely _nothing_. There wasn't even anger or the rage he felt from Hercules. It was complete indifference, though the way the king snaked his hand around Aaron's waist to pull him even closer was a bit uncomfortable. He was kissing back to begin playing his role, but he did so with no passion, with no emotion whatsoever, but the king didn't seem to notice. Finally, the king pulled away and put his forehead against Aaron's and stared into his eyes with absolute awe, completely entranced.

"Oh, I'm the luckiest man, truly, to have you. I was dead these whole years without you, my precious god, but now you've brought me back to life with a single gaze from these beautiful galaxies you call your eyes. I could get lost in them for hours, for _days_ even!" he swooned and stroked Aaron's cheeks. Aaron's smile didn't falter or change, he kept the same expression on his face no matter what the king did or said. He felt like he was wearing a mask, but the transition from his normal self to this mask had been so fluid, Hercules himself had been surprised. While Hercules felt that Aaron was wearing a very good metaphorical mask, it still felt odd to see him like this, face completely unchanging, the same shy smile on his lips the whole time the king looked at and held him. The king kissed him again, the kiss soon becoming deep and passionate on his end and Aaron played along beautifully, though Hercules could only glare at the king with jealous and furious eyes, unable to satisfy his urge to throw him out of the window and kill him for what he had done. The king pulled away from the kiss again, both of them mildly breathless. The king stroked Aaron's cheeks with the back of his hand.

"I could gaze into your eyes for forever, my beautiful god. I cannot express in words how happy I am to be with you now. Now and forevermore. And soon it shall be official. I planned the wedding to be in a few days, we will have to depart very soon to be home in time to get ready for it, my precious love," the king purred into Aaron's ear and if it had been anyone else it would have made Aaron shiver, but he felt nothing with him. He let his smile grow as if excited by the news.

"Oh, I'm so happy!" Aaron exclaimed and Hercules had to remind himself that Aaron was only playing along, but damn it, Aaron made it sound and look so _real_ , "I've missed you so much, love!"

This seemed to make the king even happier and he embraced Aaron and kissed him again and again with such a hunger like he hadn't been fed anything for the past ten years and kissing Aaron somehow provided him with the nutrients to satisfy his endless hunger and lust for his flesh.

"So much, I've missed you so much. The sight of you, the sound of you, the smell of you, the feel of you, the _taste_ of you. Let me taste you more, my most beautiful and precious god, please let me taste you more!" the king pleaded and Hercules had to hold himself back from punching him away from Aaron and just kill him, the chaos falling about the kingdom be damned. Aaron nodded as if eager for the king and Hercules had to remind himself again that this _wasn't real_.

"Yes, oh goodness, yes please!" Aaron nodded eagerly in return and kissed the king, deepening the kiss quickly with false passion. The sight angered Hercules to the core and he had to look away not to become too angry to remain rational. Aaron pulled away and rested his forehead against the king's with a happy smile.

"I must admit I had been nervous when I heard of your arrival," Aaron spoke softly and the king raised a brow.

"How so?" he asked and Aaron shook his head.

"We've been separated for ten years, my love. I didn't know how much you changed, or how you felt for me. I was afraid, but I see unreasonably so, that your love for me had... perhaps burned out in the meantime. But, oh, how glad I am that I was wrong!" Aaron exclaimed happily and stroked the king's cheek, "You can't imagine how happy it makes me so!"

"I can, I believe, my sweetest love. I must admit, I, too, was nervous how you might feel for me now. But distance made our hearts grow ever fonder of each other it seems. Oh, how I love you so, my most beautiful, precious, sweetest god!" he proclaimed and Aaron eagerly nodded along and kissed him again like he was impatient to touch him and feel him again and again like he couldn't believe he was actually there and in his arms. The king spoke again, something that elicited dread in Aaron's stomach.

"We must depart soon, my sweetest god, if we were to return home on time," he said, but Aaron furiously shook his head, "What is wrong, dearest?"

"I... Oh, my love, I couldn't possibly think of leaving now, not now!" he exclaimed and Hercules raised a brow. What was he planning? The king raised a brow as well in question and confusion.

"Why are you saying this?" he asked, on the verge of being offended, but Aaron kissed him quickly.

"Let's not leave now... Not now... Not while this is the only moment I have you all alone and all to myself until the night after our wedding. Please, my love, I want to be _alone_ with you," Aaron pleadingly whispered and both the king and Hercules' eyes widened at the implication.

"A-are you saying what I think you are?" the king asked, wide-eyed and surprised. Aaron nodded eagerly, but then stilled, as though realizing something.

"Oh, dear, but I haven't any oils here for it... My love, my dearest love, would you have a servant fetch it, please?" he asked with wide, doe-like eyes and half a pout, staring at the king who practically melted under the gaze. Hercules' mouth fell agape in shock and his eyes widened comically large. The king nodded eagerly and made for the door and disappeared through them.

Aaron let out a deep breath he'd been holding and rubbed his temples. Hercules just stared at him, still in shock.

"What are you _doing_?!" he asked loudly, somewhat angry, though not entirely, and not even mostly, at Aaron. Aaron just sighed and looked at him with an unhappy smile and regret and guilt lacing his voice and making it quiver.

"I-I'm... I'm distracting him," Aaron tried to make his voice sound cold, but he failed miserably at it and just sighed again, "It should buy us a good two hours if I do this right."

"Aaron, you don't have to do this. You can find a different way to distract him!" Hercules tried but Aaron simply shook his head.

"Too late... This is the only way now... Don't worry, I can do this... easily..." he said and gulped, mentally preparing himself for what was soon to come.

"You don't have to do this!" Hercules insisted, cupping Aaron's cheeks and holding him close.

"I have to... B-before I do this, could you... maybe kiss me?" he asked, surprising Hercules.

"I-I-" he stuttered and Aaron looked to the ground.

"I'm sorry, it was a silly request. I'll just-" he tried but Hercules interrupted.

"No, it's not silly, just... it surprised me..." he said and slowly he kissed Aaron. It was a simple kiss, but Hercules could feel every bit of emotion Aaron was feeling. Absolutely everything. Every bit of hope and regret and guilt and shame and an overwhelming amount of... fear. Aaron was deathly afraid of what was to come and Hercules could feel it with every fibre of his body and he wanted nothing more than to save Aaron from this. From everything. Aaron pulled back and Hercules could see the tears pricking at his eyes and he kissed Aaron's forehead.

"Y-you'll be fine. I'll be here with you the entire time, don't you worry. I'll be here for you. I'll be here for you," he quietly murmured and kissed his forehead again. Aaron nodded, breathing in an out slowly to calm himself down. He had to do this. It was the only thing that would buy them the time they needed. He separated himself from Hercules, feeling his presence behind him the entire time, and placed himself on his bed in a way he knew people found seductive and appealing. He made sure that his robes fell off his shoulders in just the right way and adjusted them at the bottom to reveal his legs at an elegant angle.

The door to his chamber opened again and the king entered with the needed oils in his hand and a happy and excited smirk playing on his lips as he approached the bed, his gaze quickly turning into that of pure lust when he saw how Aaron had presented himself just for him on the bed. So deliciously, just _begging_ for the king to come closer and take him that very second, to make him _scream_. With a grin, the king turned around and locked the door and went straight to the bed. He climbed atop it and crawled over to Aaron with a seductive smirk. Aaron held him by the shoulders when the king was positioned on top of him and kissed him passionately. The king pulled away with a chuckle.

"I suppose I am a bit at a disadvantage with disrobing, aren't I?" he chuckled and Aaron giggled, his laugh sounding like a divine bell in both the king and Hercules' ears.

"Then why don't we start nice and slow with you, since it would take all the fun out of it were we to start with me, wouldn't it?" he grinned up at the king who nodded along.

"We shall, my sweetest love," he replied with a low whisper, and Aaron made to slowly, tantalizingly, disrobe the king above him while languidly kissing him, moaning into the kiss every once in a while which aroused the king even more than he already was. The king was undressed sooner than Aaron would have liked, so he made it a bit of a show undressing himself until he laid before the king completely naked. The king paused to take in the view of the man below him with a gasp and awe in his eyes along with the hungry lust that yearned to be satisfied and knew only the body below him could manage to do so.

The king began touching him, his hands roaming over his entire body, exploring every inch with such fascination. Aaron felt nothing, willed himself to feel nothing, but moaned or gasped for show and to encourage the king. Aaron's head was quiet and empty while this was happening, too focused not to feel anything. Every bit of emotion or sensation he let himself feel could end horribly for him and the entire illusion he had going on.

_Focus on nothing, ignore everything you're feeling, ignore everything he wants to make you feel, ignore everything he says, ignore everything, say your part, play your part, wait for the scene to end, but drag it out, drag it out for as long as you can_ , he repeated this in his head over and over at every touch that came close to making him feel something, anything. The king's hands seemed practised against Aaron's inexperienced body completely at their mercy, but Aaron was sure he had the upper hand and complete control of the entire situation. He could play his part, he could play this role, he definitely could.

But he felt Hercules' furious glare. He knew the glare wasn't meant for him, he was sure it wasn't, but he had to ignore it too to remain secure in his role so that we wouldn't, _couldn't_ break character. Right now he had to play hopelessly in love and aroused lover for his love who returned from a ten-year war to him. It wasn't difficult. It wasn't. _It wasn't._

The king, thankfully, seemed to want to take the whole thing as slow as Aaron needed him to. Maybe the king was simply considerate of his inexperience, but no matter the cause Aaron was thankful. This would easily buy them enough time.

It wasn't even difficult.

_It wasn't._


	11. Chapter 11

Alexander felt very uncomfortable under James' watchful glare on his back as he hobbled his way back to the palace, too weak to summon his winds or float like he usually did with such elegant ease. James found the sight odd. He only knew the Wind to be a free and happy and untameable spirit, nothing could ever get to him, nothing could ever make him do anything. He had never seen the Wind so weak as he was now. He looked so powerless. Powerless and weak and vulnerable. James was almost at a loss for words.

"Stop glaring at me like that," Alexander coughed, more red clouds leaving his mouth, floating upwards and dissolving. He hugged himself tightly, trying to find a thought to focus on to keep himself from falling apart at the seams.

"You stop complaining; you brought this upon yourself," James retorted and Alexander scoffed and grumbled in annoyance and fell back into a violent coughing fit, coughing up more and more red clouds than he did before.

"I-" a cough, "Don't remember ordering an obnoxious moon god with my meal today. And-" another violent cough, "And I don't remember asking to be beaten up with a staff, thank you very much. I'm sure I'll forever be traumatised by this experience."

"You brought this upon yourself, Wind," James repeated and simply shrugged his shoulders. Alexander groaned loudly after another violent coughing fit that forced him to topple over.

"S-stop following me, will you!" Alexander coughed harshly, more red clouds steaming out of his mouth than before.

"I have to make sure you don't get any funny ideas, attacking this king again. Besides, I'm curious about this Aaron you're talking about. No god has ever seen him before," he mused and Alexander shook his head but was interrupted by another coughing fit. James had to swat at the clouds in front of his face so they wouldn't obscure his view. "Could you please stop coughing clouds?"

"Don't tell me what to do, I can't stop this. You don't expect someone who's coughing up blood to stop coughing up blood, do you?" Alexander growled and coughed again. James stopped in his tracks with a confused look in his eyes, brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" he asked and Alexander rolled his eyes at him, but continued moving, despite his weak legs and his coughing fits becoming more and more violent by the minute.

"Normal people cough up blood, I cough up red clouds, I thought the last few hundred coughs established this," he coughed up clouds again and James regarded him with an odd look.

"That is far from normal, Wind," he said and Alexander rolled his eyes, breathing heavily from his last coughing fit.

"Yup. Dead god who still exists after three centuries of being dead; best friends with a mortal, not to mention him being the most beautiful creature of any realm; coughing up red clouds instead of blood; yeah, I think that might sum up my entire existence. Not normal," Alexander spat sarcastically and James growled at him.

"Well, you've never been normal before, either. What with your odd gardens and even odder animals, not to mention your obsession with the tornado in which your palace is literally in the middle of," James listed, unhelpfully.

"We get it! I'm not normal! Can we _please_ move on?!" Alexander yelled at him, regretting it immediately as he fell into another coughing fit, the red clouds hitting James right in the face. "Besides, the tornado is there for protectio-" he said but immediately shut himself up. James raised a brow, intrigued.

"Protection? Pray tell, Wind, what exactly does it... _protect_?" he asked with a wide smirk on his face.

"Oh, drop that cocky grin right on the ground, arse. No one gets into _my_ palace without my explicit permission. No one can cross the protection I build for it, not even Washington," Alexander growled, but James' smirk did not leave his lips.

"I have always wondered how you managed to pull off a spell like that... Care to explain?" he asked with a certain _tone_ and Alexander rolled his eyes, another cloud and cough escaping his lips.

"I was a lot stronger when I was alive," Alexander said. James expected him to say more, as usual, but it surprised him when Alexander kept quiet, but there was a certain weight to his silence that had James become only more curious.

"Elaborate on that, perhaps?" James asked with a raised brow and Alexander raised his brow at him and they stopped walking.

"You don't honestly expect me to spill _any_ of my secrets to you, do you? Honestly, James, what do you think of me? Wait, no, don't answer that, I know exactly what you think of me," he waved it off. There was a short pause before James smirked with half-lidded eyes.

_"Do you now?"_

Alexander froze and glared at James.

"Drop the sham of a flirty tone, arse. Go make some drunkard fall in love with your reflection in the water and drown himself because of it," he hissed dangerously, "There's no way you can fool me with that!"

"You call _this_ a flirty tone?" he asked with a flirty tone, coming closer to Alexander who backed away with a growl, his coughing had become better now.

"Back. Off," he hissed, but James didn't listen, instead, he came closer. He made Alexander back away until he hit a tree at which Alexander glared.

"Really now? Come on, I remember back when you were alive-"

"I was _a lot_ of things when I was alive," he hissed through gritted teeth and James came even closer and lifted a hand to cup his left cheek.

"But I do remember a certain god of the Sun telling me that a certain god of wind was... _pining_ for me," he grinned and a soft flush of red came to Alexander's cheeks at the memory and his glare intensified with wider eyes.

"That was _three centuries ago_! Don't think I haven't learned to hate you over the course of them!" he yelled back. James' thumb began stroking his cheek gently and it made Alexander's breath hitch and his insides burst into flames of rage and... a reawakened longing, he realized with a shock. He pushed every emotion but rage to the side, not letting the memories take control over him. No matter how much he wanted to melt into the affection, he didn't, couldn't let himself. It wasn't genuine.

"Really? That radiant golden heart of yours can hate? I only ever thought it could only be incandescent, perhaps angry, but nothing more... And I can hardly believe these soft eyes of yours could ever manage to glare... Your eyes are lightning storms, so wild and electric and vibrant and beautiful; pulsating with life and an untameable free spirit, sparkling and exciting and brilliant" James spoke with such loving softness and Alexander's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed red at the compliments, "So determined, so passionate. That is a storm I want to be hit by with full force; a storm I want to be caught in without a warning... A stubborn storm is what you are. A beautiful, powerful, violent force. A hundred miles worth of storms is in those lustrous eyes of yours. A shame you're dead, I do believe I would have returned your feelings... _Alexander_ ," he whispered lovingly and suddenly, before Alexander could gasp or protest, James' lips met his own and Alexander's eyes widened with shock and he felt so hot he could melt right then and there into James' arms and that was the only thing he wanted to do. Everything around him froze in time and completely vanished before his eyes until there was only him, James and the sensation of their lips touching and it elicited such a spark inside of Alexander's heart he was sure he would explode into a brilliant and colourful firework any second. He never wanted this moment to stop and he was sure it could go on and on and- James smirked into the kiss and suddenly, and with such an incredible force, Alexander realized anew just what James was doing.

The high he was on came crashing down on him, smashing him back on the ground and into harsh reality. Despite his body screaming at him to let this happen, he ripped himself out of James' embrace and slapped him hard across the face with such force that it made James stumble backwards and fall to the ground. Alexander stepped around the tree and backed away, hand on his mouth, cheeks flushed a deep red and tears pricking at his wide, terrified, betrayed eyes. His heart burned and yearned and beat faster than it ever had and Alexander hated every second of it. It was beating so hard against his chest he was sure it would tear through his skin and jump out of his opened ribcage.

James' cheeks were flushed red, one more so than the other from the slap, and he seemed flustered and he looked at Alexander somewhat confused like Alexander had just ripped him out of an intense and vividly realistic dream and he wasn't sure exactly what happened. Once he broke out of his daze he looked like he was somehow disappointed, which infuriated Alexander and enraged him to no end, and then there was something else in those eyes which almost looked like a form of regret and guilt which Alexander promptly ignored with a pathetic whimper and a screech.

"SCREW. YOU. JAMES!" he screeched at the top of his lungs, startling James and making him wince and flinch back. Tears escaped and ran out of Alexander's eyes and down his flushed red and flustered cheeks. Dark clouds gathered above them and Alexander kept yelling at him. "HOW EVEN _DARE_ YOU TO TRY _THAT_ ON ME! YOU _KNOW_ HOW I FEEL ABOUT YOU, AND JUST SO CAN FIGURE OUT MY SECRETS YOU DO _THIS_?!"

James' eyes widened at the sheer hurt and pain in Alexander's voice. 

"Don't look at me so surprised! 'Oh no, what a shock, my actions actually have consequences! Gasp and oh dear!' Spare me your shit, James! Leave. Me. ALONE!" he screamed and lightning crashed above them and thunder roared loudly, loud enough to startle James and throw his arm over his eyes in protection. Alexander looked up at the black clouds surprised and confused. He hadn't summoned... them... His eyes widened.

"Ale-... I-I broke your spear- and you didn't breathe them out... I know for a fact you can't summon these clouds _or_ the lightning without your spear!" James stuttered, fear striking him like lightning. Alexander swallowed hard, he knew this, too, though he also knew that he had not always been so dependant on the spear. He braced himself and slowly lifted his right arm to his face and even more slowly opened his eyes to look at his wrist. Sure enough, the space on his wrist was empty and his heart plummeted and crashed. He took in a sharp breath and cursed. He paused completely, staring at the empty space on his wrist. He closed his eyes again and sighed pained. He opened his eyes and wore a pathetic and tired smile.

"Well... there goes another one!" he said with a bitter laugh which he swallowed down like a bitter pill and let out a stumbling breath, "There goes another one..."

"W-... A-... are you alright?" James asked, hesitantly standing up and reaching out for Alexander who looked at the clouds with a saddened expression. Suddenly, it began raining and Alexander looked at James, with utter defeat in his eyes.

"Nah, I'm breaking apart and burning from the inside out. So... Tuesday..." he shrugged his shoulders and began walking again, his legs better now somehow, or at least he couldn't feel any pain in them anymore. Or perhaps he had just become utterly numb. Both he was fine with. He felt something nagging at the back of his mind. Nagging and pushing and pulling and ripping and tearing at his mind into one direction.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." James hesitantly spoke, surprised at the sincerity in his own apology, and Alexander stopped in his tracks for a second and smiled at him, though his smile was broken and small.

"Yeah..." he said and shrugged his shoulders and turned around and resumed walking in the direction of the palace.

Hercules had looked up at the sudden lightning and thunder a mile away and was worried beyond belief for Alexander. He just hoped he was somehow alright. He sat right beside Aaron while the king was touching him and... he didn't even want to look at what was happening. He just wanted to be there for Aaron, even if he had to endure this scene along with him. That's the only way how Aaron saw what was happening. A scene in a play with no seen audience. Essentially an empty theatre. He was an actor, acting according to a pre-written script he memorised a long time ago. That and nothing more. This wasn't more than a simple scene, in a simple play. It's act two of three, soon the scene and thus the act would be over and he would be able to proceed to act three and relish in the climax.

He didn't look at anything but the king as he was prepared by his fingers slickened with the oils. He never wanted to see this man again in his life and he was sure the urge nestled so deep inside of him was the urge to rip his head off and bathe in his blood. But now his body was all red and hot from all the touches which made Aaron curse his own body and biology under his breath, pretending for those curses to have been of a more sexual nature, which the king believed laughably easily. The king believed everything Aaron said and did was genuine, Aaron didn't even _have_ to actually act, but he did regardless, paranoia keeping him in line with his role. His breath was heavy and his back arched and a few moans and gasps were indeed genuine, and Hercules hated and loved the sound of them at the same time, but the hate at the king for eliciting the sweet, melodious sounds out of him outweighed the other. Aaron did not want to be a part of the scene or the play, but it was so _easy_ of a distraction and it came to him so naturally. This manipulative nature and the ease with which it came frightened him somewhat. It came so easily to him, it couldn't simply be natural or normal. But then he almost laughed. Of course it wasn't normal; _he_ wasn't normal!

He threw his arms around the king's neck. Everything felt too hot, everything inch of his body burned at every touch, and he hated every damn second of this scene. He hated every burning touch, every hot breath that hit him, every bit of pleasure he felt from this man. He wished for anyone else to be in the king's place. Hercules, Thomas, even _Alexander_ would be a more favourable partner to him! But he ignored his urges, his hate, his thoughts, everything that could interfere with this act. Every touch suddenly felt like a thousand needles prodding and stabbing at him and it made him cry out and slap a hand over his mouth with wide eyes. The king grinned at him and told him in a whisper that made Aaron's stomach fill up with dread to the brim, flowing over.

"We'll begin the real fun real soon, my dearest love. You're doing so wonderfully so far!" he grinned and stroked Aaron's cheek lovingly and kissed his forehead gently, "I love you."

Aaron swallowed lightly, careful not to make it obvious, preparing himself for what he knew would happen next and he wished he could just not be conscious during it. He took in a deep breath and hissed lightly as the king entered him. He was dizzy and everything was moving so quickly and in a circle and he held onto the king's shoulders and neck in a desperate attempt to make everything stop moving around him. The king's eyes were tightly shut, in complete bliss at every movement, while Aaron's eyes were tightly shut in an odd mix of pleasure and pain. It was the pleasure that brought him the pain and he did not understand why this was. The king was moaning praises and compliments and sweet nothings into his hear which meant nothing to Aaron and sounded more like half-thought-out nonsense and gibberish poison being poured into his ears and he almost gritted his teeth at a particularly dirty praise and he was disgusted by that alone.

It was over in a flash, a quick flash that lasted an eternity. It took much too much time and yet it was over too soon to be comfortable with. The king lay beside him now, so close, too close, he never wanted him to be so close to him, ever, not ever, not now, never. He felt dirty, like there was blood all over him, blood everywhere, not an inch free of blood, and it was drying and he couldn't get it off and it was itching and dirty and it was driving him mad. He wanted to whimper, he wanted to cry, he wanted to scream and beat the man next to him to death and beat his head open and rip his heart and lungs out and then his stomach and pour the stomach acid all over his face and watch it _dissolve_.

He looked to the king, his eyes were shut in the blissful afterglow he was basking in which sadly did not grace Aaron with its presence. He looked over to his right and knew Hercules was sitting next to him, telling from the dip in the mattress. He held out his hand, silently asking Hercules to hold it and, after a soft second, he placed his hand in Aaron's which made Aaron give the smallest and most tired of smiles. Hercules hated the sight in front of him. He hated how Aaron's eyes had turned so dull the minute the king had begun touching him. He looked deeply into Aaron's eyes with a pitying look and Aaron stared right back, like he knew exactly where Hercules' eyes were and he thought that maybe he actually did.


	12. Chapter 12

"My dearest love, we will have to depart very soon. I saw your bags were already packed, great thinking, my dearest," the king whispered into Aaron's ear who nodded quickly.

"You might want to ask the servants to get you new horses," Aaron said quietly and the king looked at him with a bright smile and nodded.

"Yes, I should do that. If you haven't finished all your packing you should do so now, so the servants can transport them to our awaiting carriage," he said and ran his hand over Aaron's waist downward, "The gods have truly blessed me that you are what I may wake up to in the morning from now on." he whispered lovingly with a smile and Aaron smiled back. The king slowly got up, wanting to stay with Aaron longer but knowing that he couldn't and would have all the time in the world with him later. He dressed quickly and left the room quietly. Immediately after he closed the door Aaron jumped up from the bed and put on his robes again and Hercules made himself visible and embraced Aaron tightly and possessively. A small whimper escaped Aaron's lips and Hercules kissed his forehead.

"I'll make sure you never have to do this ever again. I'll make sure you'll never have to see this man ever again. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" he mumbled more to himself, a promise. Aaron just nodded stiffly and slowly pulled away from the embrace. He didn't want to, but he had to. He went to the door and made sure to lock it properly before he turned around again to face Hercules, though his gaze hit the window just behind him.

"Where's Alexander?" he asked, knowing for a fact that Alexander wasn't in the room with them and Hercules looked outside of the barred window.

"He's just outside. He'll be here in a minute," Hercules said and noticed James was still following Alexander, "With company, I see."

"Company?" Aaron asked, "James, the god of the Moon?" Hercules nodded with an equally confused look in his eyes.

"Wh-what? What does _he_ want here?" Aaron asked, some fear entering his voice. He knew he was safe with Thomas, Hercules and Alexander, they would defend him, but he was afraid that James would gather more gods to fight against them. Especially no that Alexander was beaten up and defeated so easily.

"Trust me, I did not bring him here willingly," Alexander fell in from the window, starling Hercules and eliciting an excited noise from Aaron.

"ALEXANDER!" Aaron exclaimed and ran to him, picking him up from the ground and hugging him tightly, feeling every bruise and gash on his body and whimpering for him. "I'm so glad you're back!"

"Glad to be back. Is the spell-" Alexander tried but was interrupted by James coming in through the window behind him. James' eyes widened when he saw Aaron and he froze to the spot, unmoving, unblinking, unbreathing even. Aaron had a look of fear in his eyes that turned into protective anger as he held Alexander closer to him, _daring_ James to approach them wrong. Suddenly, there was a bright glow in the room again. Thomas was visible again and James ripped his gaze away from Aaron's and gasped when he saw Thomas.

"Th-Thomas?!" he yelped in his open surprise, but Thomas was too concentrated still to notice him.

Suddenly, a bright and golden glow engulfed the entire room, no, the entire palace. There was a sound, a loud crash of glass bursting and stones flying at and hitting each other with full force. The wall in front of him cracked and melted and bits and pieces flew outwards, hitting trees and bushes and the ground with loud _bangs_ and _thuds_ and _crashes_. People within the palace were alarmed and ran to Aaron's chambers to get him to safety, assuming it was an unforeseen attack from the outside. They tried to open the door, but Aaron had locked it. They banged against the door, screaming and begging for Aaron or whoever was inside with him to open the door and let Aaron get to safety. James looked confused and startled, looking at Hercules and Thomas for answers, looking at Aaron for answers who just looked so excited for what was happening. Then there was an explosion. With a loud and roaring _boom_ that reminded Aaron much of Alexander's thunder and lightning, the last bits and pieces of the spell lay broken before them along with the wall that carried in it now only a gaping hole. The sun glared above them and Aaron let out an excited cheer together with Alexander and Hercules, while James looked at Thomas and everyone else just so confused. Thomas finally broke out of his own concentrated spell and grinned at Aaron, before freezing to the spot when he spotted James so close to them. He opened his mouth as if to say something but not one sound he wanted to make would leave his mouth.

"Th-Thomas?! What are _you_ doing here?!" James finally yelped at him and Thomas looked to Alexander and Hercules for help which they could not provide for him.

"I, uh... Wait, what are _you_ doing here?!" he suddenly asked in return.

"He decided to be a curious asshole after he beat me to a pulp," Alexander grumbled and Aaron growled at James and held Alexander even tighter to himself.

"Yeah, that. Now what's _your_ excuse?" he asked angrily and there came more shouting from outside of the locked door. Aaron could distinctly make out the voice of the king, his fists banging against the door the hardest and his eyes widened at the sound alone.

"Can we perhaps postpone this confrontation until _after_ this situation? Please?" Aaron asked hurriedly and Alexander and Hercules nodded in agreement. Thomas gulped but nodded along, earning a glare from James. Thomas grabbed two of the bags, throwing them at Hercules who caught them with ease. He grabbed another bag and threw it at James.

"You can help too!" he said angrily and grabbed two bags to carry himself, "Alexander- woah! What-... James, what did you _do_ to him!? A-alexander, are you... Can you still-"

"Eh, not the worst beating I've ever gotten. Remember when I told you about that time I pissed off the god of the Sea? Yeah, this beating isn't even in the top hundred," Alexander snorted, "I should still be able to carry you, Aaron. Light as a feather that you are." he said and Aaron snorted.

"Then let's go. I don't want to stay here for another minute!" Aaron exclaimed hurriedly. Alexander got up from the floor and easily picked up Aaron. Hercules' hand went to Aaron's for a second and glowed brightly, Hercules had just put a muse's spell on him. The winds around the picked him, rustling through Aaron's robes and suddenly, they were in the air. Aaron yelped with glee, the wind hitting him in the face, but somehow gently did so. His heart became light and began fluttering with excitement. He looked down to the ground and saw just how high he was up in the air and a nervously excited smile pushed up on his lips and his stomach churned at the height wonderfully and he giggled.

Thomas, Hercules and James were somewhere behind them, Hercules grabbing Thomas' arm as Thomas and James walked on the light and seemed to be yelling at each other but they were so far away and the wind in Aaron's ears so loud that he couldn't hear a word out of their mouths. He looked behind them, the palace became smaller and he could just barely make out the door being broken open and the king entering the room and Aaron could only imagine what his face must look like! He giggled and laughed in excitement. It would all soon be worth it, what he did, it would be worth it. He looked at Alexander, knowing somehow exactly where his head and eyes were, and smiled brightly at him and he knew, it was already worth it. He threw his arms around Alexander's shoulders and put his head on his shoulder and snuggled into it with a bright, happy, excited smile. Alexander couldn't help but share Aaron's excitement, a bright grin finding itself creeping onto his bruised lips. He didn't know how bad he actually looked, but he could guess well enough and he was, for the first time, kinda grateful that he was invisible to Aaron. His smile brightened again when Aaron giggled and looked around them in excitement and he nuzzled his head into Aaron's, a giggle escaping his mouth at Aaron's excitement. Aaron looked at him again, with wide, grinning eyes.

"Drop me," he said with a bright grin and Alexander looked at him surprised, "Drop me, I want to fall! I know you can catch me easily!"

Alexander looked a bit unsure for a moment, but Aaron's wide grin made him sigh with a fond smile. Of course, Aaron would want to know what it feels like to fall. He hadn't had any adrenaline in his blood for ten years. So, albeit a reluctantly, he let him go. Thomas yelped when he saw Alexander just drop him and froze to the spot.

Aaron screamed in delight at the feeling. He was scared, he was downright _terrified_ and he loved it! He felt the air rushing by him and he spread his arms. He decided to try and swirl around until it made him dizzy and he laughed and screamed and giggled with so much delight and excitement. The ground was coming closer by the second. Aaron looked up. He knew Alexander was still in the spot from which he had dropped Aaron and Aaron knew that he wouldn't make a move until the very last second and it was horrifying and so amazing! He loved every terrifying second of his fall. The wind rushing past him with such rapid speed it was dizzying. The ground came closer, closer, closer and suddenly, the winds picked up around him even more and he was snatched out of the air and is free-fall. The ground became farther away again and Alexander carried Aaron higher and higher and higher than before. Aaron felt absolutely amazing in the air. Alexander suddenly stopped and Aaron looked up at him oddly. Suddenly, Aaron was thrown high up into the air and saw below him clouds appear and twirl and swirl and gather in one spot below him. He fell back down, yelping in delight as he landed on the clouds and didn't fall through like he anticipated. His breathing was heavy from the adrenaline and fear and excitement and he just began laughing madly into the soft clouds. They were even softer than the silk sheets of his bed and it was simply divine.

"Glad to see you're having fun," Alexander smiled fondly at him and Aaron just snorted and giggled and nodded wildly, "Well, I'm glad... Thomas has been glaring daggers at me when I dropped you!"

"You know me, I always somehow get what I want... and now I can even count my freedom to those things," he sighed dreamily.

"A-aaron... I-... Did you and the king... I know you distracted him, I know you, but..." Alexander tried but Aaron shook his head.

"Yes, I slept with him to distract him and... and I hated every second of it. You can worry, I allow it... I just... I feel so dirty now... like there's something disgusting on my skin and it's drying and I just can't seem to get it off..." Aaron muttered, "But I had to... there was nothing else, I _knew_ there was nothing else the king would accept so willingly to distract him and... Alexander, please help me..." Aaron's smile had dropped completely and he whimpered. Alexander hugged him tightly and pressed him close to his chest. Aaron's breathing was ragged and uneven and soon tears came running out of his eyes and onto Alexander. Aaron pressed his head tightly into Alexander's chest and just let everything out. He screamed into Alexander's chest. He screamed and screeched and cried and yelled, tears streaming down his cheeks in waterfalls. Alexander softly rubbed circles into his back in a spot that always helped to make Aaron let just everything out. He didn't want Aaron to calm down, that was the opposite of what he wanted. Aaron needed everything to be too much to bear and just let everything flow out of him in these violent bursts. Alexander knew well of Aaron's tendency to just keep his emotions in, but he also knew that Aaron was willing to let it out with him close by, and he knew exactly what to say and do to make him and help him through it. He hated how Aaron's eyes had been dull even during the excitement of finally being free. And he knew that Aaron hadn't yet fully realized that he was free, that he was finally _free_.

Thomas, Hercules and James were slowly coming closer, Thomas had to be held back from running to them by Hercules who couldn't walk on the light like Thomas or James could and would fall if Thomas were to let go of him. They couldn't yet hear the cries or screams from Aaron and only saw how he was desperately holding onto Alexander. James was struck with a sudden pang of jealousy that startled him once he realized what it was and he was confused beyond belief at the sensation he felt from it. His heart hurt at the way Alexander was so readily giving Aaron affection and he had to look away and shake his head violently to get rid of the feeling, although it did still linger in the darkest depths of his heart. And it hurt.

Aaron's breathing was evening out, slowly but surely. Slowly, very slowly, he was calming down. Slowly, he was becoming empty. When it had all become too much and overflowed from within, now he was becoming more and more empty the more he let it out. Alexander smiled down at him. Aaron looked up at him and the dull that had clouded his eyes before was gone. The galaxies that were his eyes were finally back and glowing beautifully, almost entrancing and Alexander smiled. Aaron smiled back at him, but it was a tired smile. Aaron just looked so _tired_.

"Let's go to my palace. You can sleep in my bed there and rest. You're exhausted, Aaron," Alexander smiled softly down at him and Aaron nodded tiredly.

"I suppose we both had a rather... exhausting day. You'll rest with me, won't you?" Aaron nodded and asked and Alexander nodded too.

"Of course," he confirmed softly and Aaron happily leaned against him.

Finally, Thomas, Hercules and James arrived at the gathering of clouds they sat on, Thomas glaring at him and Hercules looking worried. James outright refused to look at him.

"Why did you drop him?!" Thomas yelled at him and Alexander shrugged his shoulders.

"He told me to," Alexander simply said and Aaron nodded in his arms.

"And you just do everything he tells you to do?" Thomas asked sceptically.

"Eh, kinda," he shrugged his shoulders, "You know I wouldn't just drop with and _not_ catch him, Thomas."

"I've never fallen from anywhere before... It was fun," Aaron tiredly smiled at them and Thomas completely shut up at the sight of his smile.

"Anyway, we're going to go to my palace now. Thomas, Hercules, you're invited to come along!" Alexander smiled and James huffed, "You know what you did, James. I won't let you into my palace even if my existence depended on it!"

James growled, but dropped the bag onto the clouds, turned around and, with an angry huff, he stomped off towards the moon and soon disappeared into it. Alexander could tell his angry demeanour was hiding something, and he was almost sure of what it was but didn't want to simply assume something without evidence. He could easily do this with Aaron but that was because he knew him so well and so intimately. James had changed so much in the last three centuries, or that was what Alexander saw. He didn't know how much James had actually changed in those years. He shook his head, it didn't really matter either.

"You wanna come to my palace?" he asked Thomas and Hercules who looked at each other. They had never seen Alexander's palace. It was inaccessible to anyone. No one could enter or even come close to it without permission. It was a mystery to everyone, no one knew how Alexander had managed to create such a strong tornado, such a strong spell, to protect his home. They eagerly nodded and Alexander snorted at their enthusiasm.

"Alright then! Let's go!" Aaron beamed up at them and everyone nodded in soft agreement. Alexander picked Aaron back up and the clouds beneath them dissolved as the winds picked up around them and Alexander began floating upwards, higher and higher, being followed closely by Thomas and Hercules. Alexander asked Aaron to close his eyes which he did, and suddenly everything around them became extremely bright, even through his closed eyes Aaron could sense the brightness and he pressed his head into Alexander's chest to shield even his closed eyes from the bright glare of whatever it was that was so bright.

Suddenly, the brightness died down completely and Aaron dared to open his eyes. He looked around and was confused by what he saw. It looked mostly like the realm he grew up in, but the colours looked so... weird everywhere. It didn't hurt to look at them, they just confused his brain and he didn't understand why which confused him even more. He was a bit underwhelmed. He had imagined the realm of the gods to be... bright and beautiful, and it was but... not as much as he had anticipated. He had anticipated to gasp at unimaginable beauty and impossible patterns everywhere but... this was just underwhelming and he let out an odd hum.

"Underwhelming, I know. You're used to more beautiful things. This doesn't even come close to the palace you were kept in," Alexander snorted, "But don't worry, my place's garden will do the trick.

"I did not expect this, I must admit... Are you going to put me down?" Aaron mused and Alexander shook his head.

"As soon as we're in my palace. As soon as you touch the ground you will be forced under the rules of this realm. Which is why we're going to go to my palace. They won't be able to do anything about it!" Alexander beamed and Aaron chuckled.

"You cunning little trickster!" Aaron giggled and Alexander began floating into some direction, Hercules and Thomas following close behind and making sure to keep the invisibility spell on Aaron, which was slowly wearing off the longer he was in the influence of the gods' realm. Slowly, they were approaching a giant, stationary tornado, and the sight of it made Aaron feel giddy and made Thomas and Hercules' hearts beats with a nervous flutter. They would finally get to see what Alexander's palace looked like. And maybe, just maybe, they would figure out how Alexander managed to summon such a protection spell.

The winds around the picked up the closer they came to the tornado, thunder roaring somewhere inside and lightning crashing on the inside too. The tornado was gigantic and Aaron gasped at its sheer size.

"You created this when you were alive... I didn't realize just _how_ powerful you were!" Aaron smiled excitedly at him and Alexander smiled back sheepishly.

Alexander floated them closer to the tornado, and it had absolutely no effect on Alexander or Aaron, while it seemed to push Thomas and Hercules out. Alexander shook his head at the tornado and suddenly, a hole appeared in it. Thomas and Hercules' eyes widened and Alexander motioned for them to follow him inside. They hesitantly followed him inside where they were greeted by an intimidating storm, but Alexander whistled once and it disappeared completely, startling Thomas and Hercules, while Aaron simply stared in complete awe.

There, before them, was a palace, standing on ground that looked like it was ripped from the earth. The walls had swirling patterns on them and were an odd mix of grey and yellow and white and black. It was an odd structure, there was no predictable pattern to the arrangements of the rooms or towers or even the gardens. They couldn't see the gardens properly, they were hidden by a thick soup of fog and only the entrance to them and one row of flowers were visible. Alexander landed on the ground before the gate to his home and opened it with an elegant motion of his hand.

"My home shall be your home!" he exclaimed and let them inside. 

Inside of the palace, there were doors. Many, many _many_ doors. There were no staircases to the doors above ground, and there were glowing chains around some of those doors. There were entrances to dark hallways everywhere strewn in between and there were doors just floating in mid-air. Those were mostly the doors that had chains around them.

"You guys should stick around me. This place... you can get lost in it if you don't know exactly where you are... The hallways have a tendency to move... So do the doors... Oh, and never open a door that isn't black. The black doors are the good ones," Alexander explained.

"What is behind the other doors?" Thomas asked with a raised brow. Alexander simply shrugged and didn't answer.

"Hey, I'll show Aaron the bedroom so he can rest. You guys should stay here. Don't touch any door, don't look into any hallway, and whatever you do, you do not, _ever_ walk up any stairs that may or may not show up. I don't want you two to get lost for three months!" he said in warning and Thomas and Hercules' brows rose in confusion and slight fear. Alexander had made it sound like there was something else they should be afraid of. Not just getting lost. "This is the only consistent, closed room."

Then Alexander disappeared with Aaron into one of the dark hallways. Thomas looked around. The hall was completely quiet except for the hissing of the tornado outside. It was... odd. All these doors and hallways. Suddenly, a question showed its ugly head in his mind and ate at him and made him wonder.

"Hercules?" he asked and Hercules hummed in answer, "Why does Alexander even _need_ a protection spell around his home?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what's funny to me? First, no one of you seems to care about Aaron's violent thoughts throughout the last two chapters. Second, in chapter six I presented the conflict of the spell on the palace needing to be broken, six chapters later it finally happened. It took six chapters that were essentially just over the span of just a few hours (a few more hours considering that night time and sleeping is a thing), while chapters before that would often skip WEEKS between things happening! I dunno why, it's just funny to me xD


	13. Chapter 13

"What do you mean? Probably just wants his privacy or something," Hercules shrugged his shoulders but Thomas wasn't the least bit satisfied with that as an answer and frowned. He looked around the room again. The doors everywhere had odd shapes. The only doors that were normal were the black doors strewn about here and there, but the other doors were in weird shapes. Hearts, circles, triangles, fish, feathers, axes, birds, tear drops, bears, pigs, it looked so incredibly odd to him. He had never seen such a room or such odd doors in his life before. The hallways were also not always on the ground, and they were not always the right size for a normal person to walk through. Alexander, Thomas thought, would have no problem with either the placement, shape or size of the doors or hallways, he could turn himself into wind and fit easily. Suddenly, one of the doors, a red one in the shape of a fish, on the walls detached itself and floated into the middle of the room. Thomas and Hercules watched confused as blue glowing chains wrapped tightly around it.

"I can't imagine that... He had this palace from the moment he existed... I remember, I was told that, at first, there wasn't anything special about it. It was a grey palace, nothing more. And now? Look at it! A tornado and a storm to protect it, fog around the gardens, doors and hallways that move and some are inaccessible because of either chains or because they're above the ground? Why even have these? See, the hallways are even changing in size! It's certainly not to play tricks on anyone, no one ever goes here except him... He's... hiding something, I'm sure..." Thomas mused with a thoughtful glare.

Hercules looked at him oddly, but when he considered what he said more carefully he hesitantly nodded. He could see what Thomas meant. Hercules couldn't figure another reason why Alexander would create such strong protection around his home. The fact that he even actively called it a protection was odd as well.

"Wh... What would he need to _protect_ , I wonder?" Hercules mused and Thomas nodded.

"That's what I'm wondering too. I mean, I know for a fact that he is in the other realm more than in this one. He barely even lives here! So he can't be afraid of being attacked himself, he gets himself into situations where he is beaten up all the time, so that's off the list. But he still has this protection... Why?" he threw his arms up into the air in frustration and Hercules snorted.

"So, something in here needs protecting... Maybe one of these doors or hallways, or maybe the stairs he mentioned lead to that thing he wants to be under constant protection?" Hercules suggested and Thomas nodded with a frown and put a hand to his chin in thought.

"That would make sense. It would explain why he warned us not to touch any of the doors or walk into any hallways or the-" he said and suddenly there was a loud crash behind them and they turned around startled. There was a staircase leading to some dark place.

"So that's the staircase that 'may or may not appear'... good to know..." Hercules laughed nervously.

Thomas looked at the staircase. It was simple, the most simple thing about the room. It stuck out like a sore thumb under the odd doors and the constantly changing hallways. Thomas grew curious and approached the stairs, but Hercules held him back.

"He just told us not to even _touch_ that thing, Thomas! If he really is protecting something, then let him protect it. There is likely a reason as to why it's under his constant protection," Hercules reasoned and pulled Thomas away from the stairs. Thomas frowned at him and then glared at the staircase. It just sat there, taunting him for not being allowed to find out to where exactly it leads. His curiosity was eating at him and his legs grew restless. He wanted to go up those damn stairs.

"Come on, Hercules, we might find out something about him we didn't already know or conclude!" Thomas tried, but Hercules shook his head at him.

"No, Thomas. We can't just go behind his back. If he wanted to show us, he'd show us, or allow us to look for ourselves. But he explicitly forbade us. Alexander knows what he's doing, and I don't think a warning from him should be taken lightly. Let's not stick our noses into his business," Hercules tried to reason, but Thomas just frowned.

"But an opportunity like this won't come again, Hercules! Maybe it's just his animals he's hiding, they're pretty sought after!" Thomas tried, but Hercules raised an unimpressed brow at him, "No really, Hercules. It could just be his animals. Did you never want to see Alexander's egglaying woolmilkpigs?"

"Thomas, I'm serious. Get away from those stairs. It could just as well not be his animals, but something more dangerous. Who knows what Alexander keeps in this palace, it could literally be anything!" Hercules said and pulled Thomas completely away from the stairs, "Just don't make him think his trust in us was misplaced."

Thomas looked at the stairs, desperately wanting to sate his hungry curiosity. He hummed in discontent and glared at the ground with a pouty frown.

"Hmm, fine... But it will bother me forever!" Thomas complained and sat down on the ground, crossing his legs impatiently. Suddenly, clouds formed under him in a circle form and floated him upwards. Thomas yelped as the cloud floated him up so he was still on eye-level with Hercules. Hercules' eyes were wide with surprise.

"This place keeps surprising me..." Hercules muttered. A loud bang came from somewhere in the palace and Thomas and Hercules looked around in startled confusion.

Suddenly, an explosion came from one of the chained doors floating in mid-air and blew it open, the explosion throwing Alexander out of it and slamming him into a wall from which clouds came out and caught him and prevented him from falling down. Thomas looked at the door and - he paused in confusion - there was a room? It was dark and Thomas couldn't see much in it, but there was definitely smoke coming from it. A line of clouds gathered at Alexander's feet, leading to the door and he slammed it shut. Then, red glowing chains appeared around it, sealing it. Something, whatever it was that was behind the door, slammed into it from the inside, but the chains wouldn't budge. Whatever was inside the room was ticking loudly and rapidly between banging against the door. There was another sound of an explosion and more smoke came out of the door and Alexander pressed his back against the door to keep the smoke from coming out. Alexander's breath was heavy, and he coughed up smoke, looking exactly as one would expect someone to look who was just blown out of a room by an explosion. Alexander slid down the door with a sigh.

"What was _that_?!" Thomas yelped and Alexander sat up straighter, startled. He looked down from his spot above the two with a startled expression.

"Oh shoot, you guys are still here. Sorry, I kinda forgot," he nervously laughed and scratched the back of his neck.

"Alexander, what _was_ that?" Hercules asked loudly and it echoed in the hall and through the hallways into every room of the palace and it made Alexander flinch.

"Um... please be a bit quieter? The palace is usually so quiet that everything echoes everywhere, so... And um... As to what that was, you don't have to worry. It's a... pet project of mine. A lot of these doors actually lead to... a pet project. So, don't worry about that! Just, this one tends to be... a bit explosive," he smiled sheepishly, "I should probably try to be a better host, uh... Wanna stay overnight? I'm sure I'll be able to conjure a room for you!"

"What about the other rooms here? Is there no second bedroom?" Thomas asked with a raised brow.

"Well, there are no guest rooms -- I don't ever have guests, obviously -- and every other is... _occupied_..." Alexander explained with a smile.

"And you can just conjure up a room?" Hercules asked and Alexander nodded.

"Yeah, sure! I mean, it's more like _you_ are gonna conjure them, like you did with that couch! The palace's power is a bit, um, faded, what with me being dead and all, so it's just gonna be clouds and not actually _look_ like what you want..." Alexander said and Thomas frowned a bit.

"I'm not sure we can do that. We have no idea how to do that. This thing here just happened..." Thomas pointed to the cloud he was sitting on.

"Well... the palace usually conjures what I need it to conjure, so... Ah, whatever, you can just sleep in the same bed as me and Aaron, whatever-" he stopped himself and looked behind them with sudden wide eyes, "THE STAIRS ARE BACK!" he exclaimed excitedly and jumped down to them and ran past them onto the stairs. "Finally! They haven't appeared for me in _months_!"

"What's with the stairs then?" Thomas asked curiously, "Where do they lead to?"

"They, uh... I might as well tell you now. Or later... Tomorrow. I'll tell you tomorrow," Alexander said with a yawn, ignoring his own train of thought in favour of the thought of getting to bed and resting his heavy eyes.

"Why tomorrow?" Hercules asked with a raised brow.

"Because I'm really tired right now, and Aaron's really tired. And he won't sleep until I'm there with him. You're welcome to join... and with that I mean you have absolutely no choice, because I am not letting you just snoop around my palace alone," Alexander simply said and waved a hand and a cloud appeared below Hercules and made him fall back onto it with a yelp at which Alexander laughed, "Off to bed with all of us, we deserve a break!"

He floated up to the only black door that was floating in the room with the clouds with Thomas and Hercules following and he opened it. Aaron's head from within the room shot up startled and with a small, surprised yelp, that turned into an amused laugh at himself.

"You two have found out about the clouds too, I see!" Aaron laughed with a smile, "Are you sleeping here in the bed with us then?"

"U-uh... I-It seems so!" Thomas said with a suddenly flushed face and Alexander snorted.

"Alright then," Aaron smiled softly and lay down on the bed, pulling the covers over himself. Alexander pushed in the clouds and closed the door, making it vanish into clouds that dissolved before him. Thomas got off from his cloud and slowly made his way to the bed and lied down on it, unsure how close he should scoot to him if at all Hercules lied down next to Thomas, forcing him to scoot closer to Aaron. Alexander threw himself onto the bed, startling everyone and eliciting a startled yelp from Thomas especially, at which Aaron couldn't help but laugh. Alexander snuggled close to Aaron, who nuzzled into him under the covers and hugged him tightly to himself. Thomas couldn't stop the intense pang of jealousy that stung his heart and he gripped at his chest tightly to make it stop, but it just wouldn't. It stung and stabbed at his heart and he had to hold in a yelp of pain behind a tight-lipped mouth, but he could not help to curl in on himself. Hercules took pity on the god beside him, feeling a similar pang of jealousy, but not quite as strong as he. He grabbed at Thomas and pulled him closer in an attempt to comfort him. Thomas didn't react. They all fell asleep at one point during the night, with Aaron first, then Hercules, at some point Thomas and once Alexander made sure everyone was actually asleep he let himself drift off as well, with a pang of dread hitting him just before he slipped into the dark abyss he knew awaited him.

The next morning, Alexander was the first one to wake up and, soon woke up everyone else, snorting when he saw how close Hercules had cuddled to Thomas over the course of the night.

"Alright, people! It's a big day for all of us; get up, get up!" Alexander exclaimed loudly, startling everyone awake but Aaron, who slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room sleep-drunken.

"Alexander, you should have brought this exact bed to me on the very first day when we met! I've never slept better!" Aaron proclaimed happily, getting up from the bed and stretching his whole body with a grin. Thomas groaned loudly and downright refused to get up. "Am I the only one who sees the irony in it that the god of the Sun is the complete opposite of a morning person?" Aaron snorted with an amused grin. Thomas groaned into the pillow under him and Hercules laughed.

"Get up, Thomas. You wanted to know about the stairs, didn't you?" Hercules poked Thomas' pack, who groaned even louder than before. Slowly Thomas lifted his head.

"I'm up. I'm awake!" he said and finally got up and Hercules snorted.

"Alright! I know the perfect first thing for today! I'll show you my animals!" Alexander beamed and a door opened behind him to a hall that looked similar to the main hall but had walls with another colour. Aaron immediately lit up at the exclamation and he gasped in awe.

"I finally get to see your _animals_?!" Aaron squealed and Alexander nodded enthusiastically. Aaron jumped into the air in excitement and into Alexander's arms into a tight, happy hug. "I've always wanted to see your animals!" he beamed and then gasped, "Can I care for them?"

"Not immediately, I first have to tell you exactly how to take care of them!" Alexander grinned and Aaron gasped with excited glee and jumped into the air again, extremely excited.

"I get to take care of your animals! YES!" he exclaimed excitedly and jumped up and down multiple times. The sight warmed Thomas and Hercules' hearts, it was adorable.

Alexander floated through the door with Aaron taking his hand, making Aaron get down from so high up safely. Thomas and Hercules followed behind, Thomas almost falling before a cloud caught him and let him and Hercules down gently. Aaron laughed and the sound made Thomas and Hercules' hearts beat just a bit faster and their cheeks flush a light red. On the opposite wall was a giant red pair of doors that stood slightly ajar and he led Aaron towards it. Aaron opened the doors and revealed to the group a wide field of lush grass, upon which stood at least a hundred pig-like creatures. These animals' fat bodies were full with soft looking wool, and Aaron was sure he could see full udders at the bottom of their stomachs. He looked around in awe, finding trees all around and spotted in their shadows small piles of eggs. He was completely entranced by these animals, wanting to run to them and touch them, but unsure if he should for fear of frightening the animals into not liking him or for fear that might be dangerous to him in some way, shape or form. Thomas and Hercules were caught in a similar spell of awe and trance, not noticing how Alexander herded one woolmilkpig over to the group. Aaron gasped when the animal was brought to him and looked to where Alexander stood by the animal.

"Go ahead, they can't harm you. Temporary invincibility, remember?" Alexander smiled and Aaron beamed and squatted close to the animal and held out a hand in front of its snout. The animal sniffed him carefully and decided to nibble at him without its teeth actually touching Aaron's skin and it tickled, making Aaron giggle. He softly removed his hand from the animal's mouth and proceeded to scratch it behind its ear, which the animal seemed to absolutely _adore_ , oinking happily and pushing into Aaron's hand. Aaron beamed and lifted his other hand to scratch behind the animal's other ear, at which the delighted oinking became louder and even more excited. Aaron could hardly contain his excitement at this.

"Aww! He likes you!" Alexander exclaimed and suddenly, many other of the woolmilkpigs came closer in curiosity and Aaron was utterly delighted and began scratching them behind their ears until he was thrown over and licked at by all the woolmilkpigs around him, giggling madly at the tickling sensations, "No, they adore you! I'm glad they do. I wasn't sure how they would react to new people, but I'm glad they're taking a liking to you!"

"They like me?" Aaron asked happily between giggles and licks at his face and Alexander giggled and nodded.

"Sure they do! I'm kinda jealous. Hey you guys, you never licked me half to death! Do you not like me anymore?", Alexander asked the animals, who kept ignoring him for Aaron, "Oh, I see, I have been replaced!" Alexander exclaimed dramatically, falling to the ground, drawing the attention of the animals to him, leaving Aaron, except for the first one, to go licking at Alexander's face, oinking happily. Thomas and Hercules were still stuck in that spell of trance, blinking slowly, staring at the woolmilkpigs. One of the woolmilkpigs lazily began bumping into Hercules' leg, expecting to be scratched and petted like the other animals. Hercules stared down at it and squatted down to scratch it behind its ear and it began growling. Hercules flinched and pulled his hand back in surprise at the difference in the sound it made compared to the other ones. Aaron looked over when he heard the sound and looked intrigued at the woolmilkpig and sat up and scooted closer to it. Alexander looked up at the sound too and shook his head at the animal. Aaron scooted so close that he could comfortably touch it and held out his hand to it. The woolmilkpig nibbled at his hand like the first one did and Aaron removed his hand from its mouth softly and scratched it behind the ear. The woolmilkpig growled again and Aaron pulled his hand away, then decided to try and go for the chin of the animal and as soon as he did the animal fell down and kicked its leg up into the air the more Aaron scratched there. Aaron giggled and took his other hand to scratch more there. Alexander raised his brow at the woolmilkpig and scoffed.

"Oh, I get it, when _he_ scratches you under your chin, you let him, but when _I_ do it, you bite at me! Come on, Edel! What gives?" he poked at the woolmilkpig, who simply growled at him and he stuck out his tongue at it, "Don't growl at me like that, you used to love me when you were a hatchling! Man, what happened?"

"I like him! He's cute!" Aaron smiled at the woolmilkpig and it looked like the animal was grinning up at him too and it made Aaron laugh.

"Edel's an arse. I love him, but he's an arse. He's lucky he's only an arse to me, otherwise, it would have been to the chopping block much earlier," Alexander poked at Edel's fluffy stomach, "And his wool is somehow softer than of the others. I'm keeping the eggs he lays in a special room to breed properly."

"It's almost a shame you gotta kill them at some point," Aaron said, utterly unfazed. Thomas felt Aaron should be at least somewhat fazed by the fact that these cute animals would be killed at some point. Heck, Thomas had flinched when Alexander had said that, and Aaron hadn't even batted an eye at it like he found it completely fine.

"Alexander, when will you teach me how to take care of them?" Aaron asked, happily scratching Edel's chin and working down to his stomach.

"Well, I was going to give you guys an almost full tour. Of course, you will get the completely full tour of the palace, but you know of most of what is in here anyways. After the tour is over, then I'll teach you how to take care of the animals, and of my gardens, soon to be also yours!" Alexander explained and Aaron beamed. He loved the thought of being able to take care of these things he had heard so much about in those years spent locked up in a palace with nothing really to do.

"What are we waiting for then?" he asked excitedly and jumped up. Edel looked somewhat offended at not being scratched anymore, but simply stood up and shook himself off and wandered off, joining its brethren.

"Well, then, let's venture further," Alexander smiled.


	14. Chapter 14

Alexander led them back out of the open field, and into the hall again. Thomas stopped, no, this wasn't the same hall from which they had entered. The doors looked completely different and there were no hallways anywhere and no door was floating in mid-air. The doors on the walls seemed to glitch in an out of existence, but all of them except the double door behind them and a blue door across from them in the shape of a heart had red glowing chains wrapped tightly around them. Thomas looked up in curiosity and found that there were doors on the ceiling as well and he raised a brow in confusion and frowned. He supposed it would make sense that the doors aren't on the walls on ground level since Alexander can just float up to them. But he still couldn't quite wrap his head around the door in the other hall that just floated in mid-air and somehow still led to a room. trying to wrap his head around it just made his head hurt, so he stopped and put away the thoughts for another time to be mulled over carefully.

"Oh, we're in a different hall?" Aaron asked, shaking off some wool that stuck to him from the woolmilkpigs.

"Yeah, this is the west hall. It's not connected to any other hall by any hallways. You'd have to get through the right combination of doors or to the woolmilkpigs and back. It's easy once you got the hang of it," Alexander explained and Aaron chuckled.

"This palace keeps surprising me! It's unpredictable! I love it!" Aaron exclaimed, "Nothing here ever stays the same. Oh, I can't wait to explore it all! This palace just screams that it's yours, Alexander!"

"Well, if that's the case, you'll have no difficulty navigating it!" Alexander grinned.

Suddenly, the room began vibrating, startling Thomas and Hercules and suddenly they all fell to the ceiling but clouds appeared for Alexander and Aaron, who yelped in delight. Thomas and Hercules landed on the ceiling with a loud thud and Thomas groaned.

"What was that?" Thomas yelped and Hercules, who landed on his head, groaned and rubbed at it.

"I think the room just turned on its head? Is that correct?" Aaron offered and Alexander nodded with a sheepish grin.

"Yeah, that's the west hall for you. I told you the main hall is the only consistent room of the palace. This on turns on its head or on its sides at random intervals. But, while we're here, I can show you the indoor garden," Alexander explained and Hercules hummed, intrigued.

"An indoor garden?" Hercules asked

"Well, one of them. This is the fifth of them, hence why the door has five sides," Alexander nodded and pointed to the door he was right next to. It was a red door with blue chains wrapped tightly around it. "The plants in there are carnivorous, so maybe don't stick your hands into them." Alexander grinned at them. He knocked on the chains three times and they dissolved with a loud crash and a flash of blue. He let himself drop into it, Aaron closely following behind and Thomas and Hercules hesitantly letting themselves drop into the room too. As they dropped into it, the room seemed like it was on its correct side, and it was confusing Hercules and Thomas, having expected to fall to the side of the room and not to stick on the ground.

"What the- This thing just confuses me, what even," Thomas muttered and Aaron laughed.

"You can't treat the palace as one architecture, Thomas. Treat the rooms as rooms that are independent of each other," Aaron said and Alexander nodded, confirming the statement to be correct.

"You seem incredibly comfortable just accepting everything that's happening in here," Thomas raised a brow at Aaron who giggled.

"Well, you learn to accept everything that is connected to Alexander quickly. I'm still surprised at everything here, but nothing is quite unexpected. I anticipate to be surprised," Aaron smiled and then made to look around the room which was a bit dark, but not dark enough as to not be able to see anything in it. It was also rather humid and a bit stuffy and very warm. Aaron looked at the plants with great interest and intrigue, studying their oddly shaped leaves and blooms. The smell of them was sweet and Aaron found himself smiling at the sweetness of the smell

"What's this one?" Aaron asked, pointing at the plant right in front of him. Alexander looked over to him, carrying a watering can and handing it to Aaron.

"Let's see... That's a black tooth," Alexander said.

"How did it get its name?" Aaron asked.

"Here, watch," Alexander replied and conjured an egg, likely from his woolmilkpigs if Aaron remembered the colour correctly, and held it in front of the big green flower bud and poked it with it once. Suddenly, the bud opened with rapid speed and attempted to bite at the egg, and now Aaron could see the black teeth-like stumps covering the plant's entire... 'mouth' as it tried, and failed, to crush the egg with its teeth. Alexander pulled the egg out of the plant's mouth and let it disappear. Aaron gasped and grinned at the plant. Alexander smiled and led Aaron's hand with the watering can to the plant which hissed at them and moved as if to back away.

"Now you can water it. This one's a shy fella, but I think it will grow to like you. It hated me in the beginning too," Alexander said and Aaron tipped the watering can and brightly glowing blue water came pouring from it into the plant which flinched back at the sudden contact, but when it seemed to realize it was water, happily danced in it and tried to get as much water on its petals and leaves as possible.

"Aw, it's so cute!" Aaron squealed and Thomas and Hercules decided to look at the other plants in the room, though one plant at the end of the room caught their attention especially. It was a giant plant, its vines raking over the entire floor, some sticking to the ceiling and walls of the room. The smell from it was strong and sweet and Thomas and Hercules regarded it with intrigue.

"What's this one?" Hercules asked and pointed to the giant plant. Alexander looked over and his eyes widened when he looked at it and he cursed.

"Shit, that should not be here!" he cursed and pushed past Thomas and Hercules to the plant. Aaron looked at the plant with worry and his eyes furrowed with concern.

"What is that thing then?" Thomas asked, but Alexander ignored him in favour of summoning a shovel and a pair of scissors and cutting away at the vines from the bottom of the plant, resulting in the vines over the room shrivelling up and dissolving before their eyes. When he was done he grabbed the shovel and proceeded to dig out the plant from the ground it was so tightly stuck it. the others looked on at Alexander's stressed and quick movements as he finally managed to separate the plant from the ground. He snapped his fingers and suddenly a pair of red chains appeared around the plant, wrapping themselves tightly around its 'mouth' and the rest of its body. Alexander grabbed the plant by the chains and opened a white, dirty door that was behind it and had a hole in it. Thomas brows raised in surprise and Alexander groaned at the hole, throwing the plant through the door and another pair of red chains wrapped themselves around the white door and sealed it, making it disappear completely.

"That was a plant that's a bit more dangerous than the ones I keep here. These plants are virtually harmless, you see," Alexander explained hastily, rubbing the dirt from his clothing and peeling away some vines that had decided to latch onto him while he was digging out the plant, "That thing was not supposed to be here, but apparently it ate through the door. At least that's a problem avoided and solved now."

"Will I take care of that one too?" Aaron asked and Alexander nodded.

"It's only a bit more dangerous than the ones in here. I'll teach you how to move around it, but once the plants get used to you, you'll be okay and they'll let you just operate around them and work with them without too much of a problem. And it's even better that I'm basically introducing you to them. They hated me, absolutely despised me in the beginning, but I'm sure they'll take a liking to you much quicker than they did with me, these little monsters," Alexander explained while conjuring another watering can and pouring its contents onto a plant behind him with growled happily at the attention, "I'll explain this in more detail later."

There was a loud ringing sound, like that of a bell and Alexander piped up at it and looked to Thomas and Hercules with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, you two, but it seems you have to go now. Thomas, you need to raise and direct the sun and you can't do it from here. Maybe we'll see you some other time?" Alexander said and another door, a black one, appeared behind them next to the door through which they had come. Thomas frowned, as did Hercules, but they nodded reluctantly. Alexander opened the black door and it led to the main hall, which Thomas recognized because of the big grey double doors on one side which opened with a flourish of Alexander's hand. Thomas and Hercules exited through it.

"You'll be able to exit through the tornado without a hole. It will make you a bit dizzy, but that's about it. Don't tell anyone about anything you saw in here," he said and closed the doors behind them.

Hercules and Thomas looked at each other, brows furrowed with confusion. Thomas felt odd like Alexander didn't trust him or Hercules in the slightest about what was in that palace. He had merely shown them two rooms, halls not included, and Thomas felt even more curious than he did before. The hungry curiosity ate at him and it made him uncomfortable that he still kind of didn't know what was going on it that palace. Alexander had barely explained anything to them like he feared that if he did they would be able to figure out some major secrets and tell everyone about them. But they wouldn't! At least, Thomas was fairly sure that he would never tell anyone Alexander's secrets if Alexander were to tell him.

"Do you think we're ever going to be told the truth about this place?" Thomas asked Hercules who was already making his way to the edge of the palace grounds. Hercules shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"I don't think so. Alexander is a very secretive person, and I don't think he believes he can trust us completely yet," Hercules guessed and Thomas nodded.

"Our turn-arounds were rather abrupt," Thomas agreed, "I was just hoping I could... Nevermind, let's go..."

"Hey, can you carry me down to the other realm?" Hercules asked, "I kinda need to do something down there."

"Sure, I can do that," Thomas nodded and took Hercules' arm with his hand and walked off to the tornado on his light.

Aaron looked at Alexander with a sympathetic smile and squeezed his arm in comfort.

"It wasn't actually time to thrown them out, was it?" Aaron asked and Alexander shook his head.

"No, it wasn't. That bell doesn't even tell the time, just... I just feel like I shouldn't trust them with the secrets of my palace. They've reacted so negatively the whole time and... I don't think I can even show them my collections..." Alexander admitted.

"The things you told them were 'pet projects'?" Aaron asked for clarification and Alexander nodded, "Well, they kinda are if you think about it."

"I just... I just can't seem to trust them with it..." there was no 'yet' implied, "Does that... does that make me a bad friend, Aaron?" his gaze was unhappy and he didn't dare to look up into Aaron's eyes, awaiting his judgement silently.

"No, not at all, Alexander! You're the best friend anyone could ever ask for. I've been wondering myself how far you would trust them, and you seemed to do so completely at the beginning which was why I trusted them so much without even knowing them really. But it's completely okay not to trust them with something like this. This palace is a clear insight on you, on your mind and your heart. I don't think I would trust anyone with it either... except you of course," Aaron smiled softly at him and made him look at him and pressed their foreheads together gently. He could feel Alexander's breath on his face. Alexander opened his eyes and looked into Aaron's as if trying to find any clue of him lying to him, but he couldn't find one. He let himself smile a bit and he hugged Aaron tightly.

"I'm so, so glad I have you," he whispered and Aaron hugged him back just as tightly.

"And I'm glad I have you," Aaron replied softly with a gentle smile on his lips.

After some time, they liked to drag their comforting hugs out because they knew the other adored the physical affection just as much as they did, they decided to slowly pull away from each other, both smiling brightly at each other.

"I suppose I should show you the rest and give proper explanations?" Alexander asked with a sheepish smile and Aaron giggled and nodded.

"Can we go back to your animals?" he asked.

"Which ones?" Alexander asked with a smirk and Aaron gasped.

"You have _more_?" Aaron squealed, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise! Oh, and I actually got some new ones fairly recently. They're a mutation from my woolmilkpigs. I experimented on the eggs with black tooth water and out came these black bell-like creatures. I actually have three of them in a very stable condition!" Alexander explained with a grin and Aaron squealed again in excitement.

"I can't wait to learn all about them! And your plants! And your gardens! And oh, about all the other things in here behind these doors!" Aaron exclaimed happily.

Alexander beamed excitedly, he was happy that he could share his knowledge with someone with such an excited and happy attitude towards the prospect of learning it from him. Then he remembered something.

"Oh, you are absolutely going to _love_ the library!" he exclaimed and Aaron's eyes shone brightly.

Far away from the happy pair sat the king of the gods, the god of judgement, known by his subjects as the Judge or Washington. He sat atop his throne, rubbing at his temples. His head hurt horribly and he could not do anything about it. He had had this headache for three years now and he wasn't even sure where it had come from, just that it hurt and he couldn't get rid of it no matter what he had tried. Even the goddess of healing did not know a cure that helped, and she had tried everything. The door to his palace burst open with a violent slam against the wall and he was sure he heard the wall crack under the impact and the loud sound sent another wave of pain through his head and he groaned. The muses, all except Hercules, came stomping into his palace, faces red and angry and eyes stuck in a furious glare. Washington shot them a glare and they flinched back but didn't lose the absolute fury in their eyes.

"Sir, you have _got_ to do something against that nuisance Wind!" Samuel yelled and the muses nodded in agreement.

"What did he do this time?" he asked with a sigh. _Here we go again_ , he thought, silently groaning in his head.

"He blew our parchment and ink and my lyre into the underworld! He blew us into the lake that is an entrance to the underworld! And then he covered us in leaves from head to toe!" Peggy yelled and it shot another stab of pain into Washington's head and he groaned. They should know what the answer to what they wanted, justice, as always when it came to Alexander's pranks, would be no. Because everything Alexander ever did always only did minimum damage to anyone and as long as Alexander didn't actively attack another god or broke some major rule he couldn't do anything about it. And even the major rules didn't actually apply to Alexander because he was dead. Technically, he shouldn't even exist, and you can't punish something if it technically doesn't exist anymore. James had once proposed that Lafayette, the god of death, should have power over Alexander, but that had proved to be incorrect, at least according to Lafayette. But Washington had the feeling that Lafayette just didn't want to be held accountable for Alexander in his place without regard if he actually did have any power over the dead god.

"I'm sorry but I can't do anything about it," he replied mechanically. That was the phrase he had had to reply with for centuries when it came to people coming to him about the dead god's pranks. Centuries of repeating the phrase over and over to the same people made it lose its meaning over time and it became stale and bitter to speak it out loud.

"You must be able to do _something_! You're the king of gods, how can you _not_ do something about this?!" the muses exclaimed in unison. Another stab of pain shot through Washington's head and he rubbed at his temples even harder.

"He is dead, he does not exist anymore to us and therefore we cannot punish him like us, or like a mortal. He has become something in-between, something that no one has any control over. It is not right to punish a being not under my control, especially since he has not yet crossed the line to being harmful," Washington explained. The muses had always been rude. Suddenly, he noticed Hercules not being with them and he raised a brow at that. "Where is Hercules?" he asked and the muses scowled

"Oh, _Poetry_ has decided we're not good enough for him and immediately played friendly with the Wind after he pranked us," Samuel spat with venom at his voice and Washington looked at them surprised.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked and John nodded.

" _Poetry_ is now hanging with the Wind like he isn't dead and a disgrace to us," he said with a growl and Washington's brows furrowed, "Saying something along the lines of not being able to hate a friend for such a silly reason, or something."

"That is... thank you for bringing that to my attention... If you could perhaps leave, muses, my head-" he tried but was interrupted when ten more gods slammed into his palace with furious glares.

"Judge, you must hear this! The Wind-" they tried but Washington interrupted them angrily.

"I do not want to hear anything about the Wind again today! Whatever your grievance is, it will wait until overmorrow!" his voice boomed through his palace, silencing the other gods easily, "Out, all of you! OUT!"

The gods and muses hesitantly began to file out of his palace, despite some clearly wanting to voice some concerns over something, he simply ignored them and closed the door behind them with a wave of his hand. He began rubbing at his temples again, a harsh pain throbbing through his skull.

Alexander, meanwhile, felt a shiver run down his spine and he flinched. Aaron, while scratching the chin of Edel, looked at him and raised a brow in silent question.

"Heh, someone must be complaining about me again," he laughed.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid that from now on you can't expect daily updates for this work. I'm sorry, but I will try to get out as many as I still can. Thank you for your patience!

"Alright... look, you're doing great already!" Alexander praised Aaron, who was milking Edel, who had refused to leave Aaron alone for anything. Aaron smiled insecurely and Edel oinked happily as if to encourage Aaron and agree with Alexander. The past two hours had been filled with Alexander explaining to Aaron how to clip a woolmilkpig and how to spin it into yarn and was now dedicated to teaching him how to milk them. Aaron had quickly gotten the hang of it after about ten failed attempts but was still unsure of whether he was actually doing it right or not.

"Okay, that's enough. You won't have to milk them every day, but usually once a week. If one of them ever doesn't give any milk, you clip their wool and bring them to the chopping block right after, because that's a sign that they're too old. The hatchlings are easy to manage, you just leave them alone until they've grown up," Alexander explained and Aaron nodded looking down into the bucket of milk. Edel lied down right next to it and looked like he was dozing off, but he was actually watching Aaron intently with almost closed eyes.

"Alright... What next?" Aaron asked, getting up from the small stool he had sat on. Alexander hummed in thought, but then an idea latched into his head.

"Before we go to my stone garden, I want you to be able to really move around here on your own for if I'm ever not here but getting something new for the palace," Alexander said and Aaron raised a brow in interest.

"Oh? What did you have in mind?" he asked and Alexander led him out if the field and into the main hall again, where the staircase still stood. Aaron tilted his head to the side and Alexander led him up the stairs. The stairs led into a gigantic room with hundreds of glass cases with weird looking machines and contraptions inside them, buzzing and vibrating and beeping and hissing. Aaron looked around in awe.

"Is this your crafting room?" he asked, breathless and Alexander nodded fiercely.

"You remember!" he grinned and Aaron nodded.

"Of course, I do!" Aaron beamed, "You told me how you would always come here to craft new things to help you with pranks of with taking care of things in the palace!"

"Or just for my own entertainment," Alexander added and Aaron suddenly gasped.

"Are we going to make something for me?!" he asked excitedly and Alexander nodded with the same excitement jumping over to him. Alexander led him to a table at the very end of the room and told him to wait there. He walked to behind a glass case that had a crystal glowing in it stuck in a ball made of metal. Aaron felt like it was watching him somehow and h avoided looking at the thing, whatever it was. Alexander came back with a box in his hand and placed it on the table.

"May I ask for your sandals?" he asked and Aaron quickly untied his sandals and put them on the table before Alexander who then pointed at another box that lay on a shelf next to Aaron, "Can you get me that?" And Aaron brought him the other box too. Alexander opened the box Aaron brought him and took out of it a needle and some thread that was made from the wool of a woolmilkpig. He put the thread through the eye of the needle and placed it onto the table next to the sandals. He then carefully opened the first box, but no completely, and carefully took something out from it. Aaron hummed in surprise, it was a wing? Alexander gently took the wing into his hand and closed the box with the other. He took the left sandal and placed it right in front of himself, then grabbed the needle and began to sew the wing into the back of the sandal. It took a few minutes before he was happy with how tightly it was sewn to it and he took another wing from the box and sewed it on the other side of the sandal. After that, he proceeded to do the same with the other sandal and two more wings. Aaron stared in awe as Alexander worked on them. As soon as Alexander was done sewing the wings to the sandals they began to wiggle and he had to grab them before they flew away. He nodded at them and handed them to Aaron.

"Let's test them out, shall we?" he smiled and Aaron looked at the sandals in surprise but then beamed excitedly at him and nodded fiercely. A black door appeared and opened behind them and Alexander led Aaron out of it. The door led to the outside of the palace and Aaron saw two gates. There was a thick soup of fog and he couldn't see through it. Alexander snapped his fingers and the fog behind the second gate completely disappeared and the gate opened. He led Aaron into the space and Aaron gasped at what he saw. Before him lay a stone garden, the pebbles in beautiful and intricate patterns around bigger stones and rocks, some golden, some bejewelled, some meteors and a small waterfall in the corner to his left. Some of the pebbles sparkled in the light and Aaron found it all absolutely breathtaking. But then he halted.

"Alexander, I can't possibly practise here! What if I fall, then the garden would be ruined?" he said with a worried look but Alexander waved it off.

"Eh, I had this pattern for years now, would be nice to finally have an excuse to change it! Alright, put on the sandals. I'll guide you through your first two rounds," he said and Aaron nodded and slowly put on the sandals. The wings at his heels fluttered and he giggled at the feeling.

"H-how do I use them?" Aaron asked, a bit unsure. Alexander smiled patiently at him.

"It's gonna be a bit tricky at the beginning, so I'll just help you into the air before you try to get them moving for you on your own," Alexander said and took Aaron's hand. Alexander began floating and the wings at Aaron's heels began fluttering wildly and soon Aaron found himself in the air along with Alexander. Slowly, Alexander let go off Aaron's hand. "Don't move too quickly, alright? Find the best position, with the most balance," he instructed and Aaron nodded, slowly and carefully positioning his feet and trying not to sway too much. It felt weird, almost like he was standing on something, but not quite. Almost... like he was standing on a cloud. He hummed and positioned his feet like he normally would when he was standing on the ground, but pointed them a bit downwards. He wasn't swaying anymore and he beamed up at Alexander who cheered him on. "Yeah! Awesome, you got it! Hey, try to get to me, okay?" he said and floated a bit away from Aaron.

Aaron concentrated on his feet with furrowed brows, unsure of how to move forward. He experimentally moved his right foot forwards and completely stilled in shock when the wings propelled him forward quicker than he wanted and he slammed into Alexander, resulting in them falling into the middle of the stone garden and messing up the pattern under them. Alexander laughed and Aaron yelped as they hit the floor.

"Ouch, that hurt," Aaron mumbled and rubbed at his face. Alexander helped him up again and Aaron decided to try something. He lifted his right foot like he was about to climb a ladder or some stairs, but he lifted it very lightly, and let out a delighted yelp when the wings brought him just off the ground. Alexander cheered him on and Aaron lightly, very lightly, moved his right foot forward, and the wings carried him slowly forwards. The smile on his face grew bigger and brighter and he stopped moving. He turned around to Alexander again, swaying strongly as he did so. "Wait, how do I get down?" he asked and Alexander shrugged his shoulders.

"I think we'll have to figure that out, huh?" Alexander replied with a smirk and Aaron huffed.

"You just want to watch me flail around like a fish out of water, don't you?" he put his hands on his hips once he regained his balance.

"Maybe," Alexander grinned and Aaron rolled his eyes with a fond smile.

"You could at least come up here and get a better view of me failing miserably at moving with wings," Aaron said and Alexander shrugged his shoulders and floated upwards to him.

"So, you got it figured out how to get up into the air, how to move slowly and how to move much too quickly," Alexander snorted and Aaron slapped his arm lightly, "Maybe you should try moving backwards next and left and right before we advance to descent."

"Alright, okay, I can do that... I think," Aaron said and slowly, and very lightly, moved his right foot backwards like he would normally. The wings carried him backwards very slowly and Aaron's unsure frown turned into a triumphant beam of a smile. He and Alexander cheered. "Alright, to the left now," Aaron said and moved his left foot to the left, daring to move his foot a bit more than before. He flew sideways to the left a bit faster than before and he then proceeded to try the same with the right foot, succeeding here also.

"Hey, look at you go! A few more practise rounds and you're the master of those things!" Alexander cheered and Aaron beamed at him.

"Okay, now to get down..." Aaron mumbled to himself. He tried to pretend to step down something, but all that did was move him forward and he yelped when it propelled him forward and rush by Alexander, hitting his right arm harshly. "Okay, that was _not_ how to do that!"

He tried a few different movements, but they all just either moved him forward, backward, to the left, right, upwards or spun him a circle. He growled at the wings on his heels and furrowed his brows in thought. He hummed and put a hand to his chin, cupping his elbow and he thought about it. Moving his right foot upwards made him fly into the air... Perhaps the other way around would do something? He positioned his right foot to point downwards and lifted up his left knee and, _finally!_ he was softly floating downwards until he was back on the ground. He jumped up in excitement and cheered and Alexander floated down to him and cheered too.

"I did it!" Aaron cheered and jumped into Alexander's arms who caught him easily and twirled him around him and then hugged him tightly.

"Yeah, you did!" Alexander beamed and pulled away from the hug.

"This is amazing! Now I can fly, and I can go everywhere without even minor difficulty! This is great!" he laughed but then looked around them and noticed just how ruined the pattern in the pebbles were. It was almost an odd idea that there had been a beautiful and intricate pattern here. "You said you could always fix this, right? How exactly do you do it? And do you think I'll be able to?"

"Well, that would require you being able to control my winds... You'll be able to soon, don't worry, but for this time, I'll just get my winds to clean up behind us. Any suggestion on the new pattern?" Alexander said and Aaron thought for a moment.

"Maybe a pattern of leaves, swirling and dancing in the wind? Is that possible?" Aaron offered and Alexander nodded.

"Sure it is! Let's get up and out of it first, before the winds pick up, okay?" Alexander said and Aaron nodded, moved his right foot up and flew upwards, Alexander close following. Alexander lifted his hands and the winds below them howled and hissed loudly, brushing over the pebbles, running through and under them. Aaron watched in amazement as the winds pushed the pebbles into the pattern he had proposed. "Hey, that's a neat pattern! Should've tried that one out ages ago!"

"I love this! I love being so high up in the air! I can see how you love it so much, Alexander, I don't think I'd ever want to stop flying..." Aaron sighed dreamily and spun in a circle. There was a comfortable silence between them as they watched the winds work down below, Aaron practising with his sandals by flying backwards in a circle around the stone garden.

"Hm..." Alexander mused, putting a hand to his chin in a thoughtful pose.

"What are you thinking about?" Aaron asked.

"What, you can't tell?" Alexander grinned and Aaron rolled his eyes.

"No, for once I can't tell what's on your mind. It must be about something that I don't know about then? Something of which its existence is unknown to me, perhaps?" Aaron shrugged his shoulders.

"It should be, otherwise I'd be lousy at keeping surprises a surprise," Alexander grinned and Aaron rolled his eyes.

"Well, what is it then? Or will it stay a surprise for longer?" Aaron asked and Alexander nodded.

"A surprise for longer, I think. Perhaps tomorrow? Yes, tomorrow should do fine," Alexander smiled innocently at him.

"Wait a second... My birthday's tomorrow! You can't possibly have had anything planned beforehand, Alexander?" Aaron asked and Alexander shook his head.

"Nah, it came to mind just a minute ago! But yeah, your surprise will be for your birthday, don't you worry!" Alexander replied and Aaron raised an amused brow at him.

"Alright then! What now?" he asked and Alexander pointed to the soup of fog covering the other garden and went away immediately.

"Let's go and explore my other garden then, shall we?"

Aaron nodded and they both flew over to the other garden and Aaron gasped at its beauty. Golden, singing paradise flowers were everywhere, singing the most beautiful and heartwarming melodies that Aaron had ever heard.

"Hear that? Beautiful, isn't it? I actually once made a lyre out of these flowers and gave it to the muse of music. That lyre never sounded the wrong note in its entire life and damn it I'm proud of that!" Alexander explained and Aaron laughed.

"You're a real artisan, aren't you?" Aaron smirked and Alexander slapped his arm playfully, "That was a compliment!"

"Let's see... These flowers are a bit difficult to maintain. They need a very specific amount of water, and I just about perfected the amount that I rain down on them. Exactly seventeen drops per flower, which have to be administered at exactly twelve o'clock, midnight, once every three weeks. These flowers ripen, actually, and once they're about this size," he said and put his hands apart by thirty centimetres, "then you have to cut the bloom off, but only the gold and be careful not to cut off the green, not even a tiny bit, or the flower won't grow back. The cutoff bloom will have to be put into a room I'm going to show you later."

Aaron nodded, but with brows furrowed in confusion.

"But, how will I be able to water them? It sounds like I'd have to water them all at the same time..." he mused.

"Don't worry, there's an artefact in the palace that will make it rain. You'd just have to adjust it a little bit to get the right amount for every field," Alexander waved it off, "You'll be able to figure it out quickly!"

Aaron smiled at him and looked around the fields. It was absolutely beautiful, that much was clear. The gold of the singing paradise flowers glimmered and shone in the light, and it accompanied their singing beautifully. Aaron sighed happily, he could easily spend an eternity here. He wondered for a moment where the light came from because when he looked up at the sky he could not see a sun. He didn't know that the gods' realm required no sun, unlike his realm. He wondered for a second more what Thomas or Hercules must be doing at the moment.

Hercules was in the other realm, doing his job as a muse. He had decided to become a bit more personal giving people inspiration for their poetry when they invoked for his aid.  
Thomas, on the other hand, was sulking in the sun while he directed it across the sky. He wanted it to consume all of his focus because he did not want his curiosity to eat more of him away. It didn't work well for him, as thoughts of the stairs and the odd doors, glitching in and out of existence, moving, and the hallways, moving and changing in size and shape. The more he tried to focus on his work, the more his thoughts drifted back to Alexander's palace. Finally seeing the palace, and being inside it, only raised more questions than it ever answered, and it didn't answer too many things. It didn't answer anything at all, except for the question of what the palace looked like.

He grumbled and growled when he realized just how much his mind was consumed by his unyielding, starving curiosity. He gritted his teeth and shook his head, trying to rid himself of those thoughts, tried to concentrate on anything but his many a thousand questions about Alexander's palace. A myriad of questions, an army of those questions were attacking him and he was so absolutely done with it. Suddenly, someone tapped on his shoulder and he shrieked and jumped away from the person behind him. He spun around with wide, startled eyes, only to find it was James who stood behind him. He glared at him and James rolled his eyes.

"Why did you do that?" he glared and James simply scoffed at him.

"I see you've grown friendly with the local dead god walking," James glared back at him and Thomas just huffed.

"Like that's any of your business. You attacked him for no reason!" Thomas shot back.

"I was defending the entourage he was attacking for no reason! I had a reason, he didn't!" James retorted and Thomas just shook his head.

"Uh, no?! _He_ was trying to delay their arrival!" Thomas' glare shot daggers at James who seemed a bit taken aback.

"And what's with you being so friendly with him? I heard about Hercules, and a shame it is, but _you_ of all people? Thomas, I'm disappointed," James shook his head. Thomas groaned.

"This is literally _none_ of your business!" Thomas yelled.

"I am your best friend, of course, it's my business!" James reasoned, but Thomas simply scoffed.

"Keep your nose out of this! I don't care what you think of him, or me continuing my friendship with him, I don't care! I don't need your opinion on this, James. I can make my own decisions!" Thomas growled and James hummed displeased but backed off. Then an odd smile came to his lips.

"I saw you... 'exiting' out of the tornado around the Wind's palace..." James started but Thomas' eyes widened, offended.

"Don't think I'll tell you _anything_ that I saw in there!" Thomas yelled and James frowned at him.

"Come on, Thomas! No one has seen his palace, anything of it, as long as it existed! Everyone wants to know what's in there! Doesn't matter who you ask, everyone's curious as to what is inside of that thing. And you've not only seen it but you've _been inside it_! You can't just not tell anyone!" James said but Thomas stood his ground.

"Yeah, actually, I _can_ just not tell anyone. I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone! You can't just expect me to break Alexander's trust like it's nothing!" Thomas yelled and James grumbled.

"What made him trust you anyway? He hated you before?" James asked with a raised brow.

"I realized my own mistakes, I sought him out and I addressed him with his name," Thomas said with tightly crossed arms and James brows raised in intrigue.

"Is that so?" he asked and Thomas nodded.

"It was a hard blow to him when he died," Thomas mumbled and James nodded.

"I can imagine..." he replied and looked to the side in thought for a second, then a smirk came across his lips. "Oh dear, it's already so late? My apologies, Thomas, for intruding. I must go now. I'll see you at sunset."

Thomas looked at him oddly and nodded, watching as James left from the sun, behind the mountains where the moon lay in wait for the sunset to finally approach so it may rise with the stars and shine brightly for the mortals below, guiding them through another night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking that I won't dedicate many more chapters to exploring the palace, at least not until I hit one of the plot points I'm planning to hit very soon. Though it will still take some time after that until I will let you guys get back to the palace to explore more of it. Sorry for those who already somewhat enjoyed the little exploration of it we got to do up until now!
> 
> EDIT: shit I accidentally clicked the 'spam' button on one of the comments on I think it was chapter eleven! I did NOT want to do that! I am SO SO sorry!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I'm so happy that I was able to punch out a chapter! I'll try to do one chapter per week!

Alexander lay next to Aaron in the field, surrounded by his- _their_ woolmilkpigs. It was odd to... share this with someone else. He remembered way back when, when he had not yet met Aaron and had been absolutely miserable. He had spent days, weeks, months at a time in his crafting groom, only leaving it to get material and after he completed a new project with the sole purpose of pranking someone with it and then going out to prank them with it. Well, to be fair, it wasn't the only thing he ever did. He had been and still was a collector at heart, an artisan in mind and a prankster in his legs. His collection of artefacts and plants and animals, all rare and difficult to obtain and even more difficult to maintain. But hey, he had all the time in the world. No duties to keep him occupied in his immortality, nothing to keep his mind from spiralling into an abyss of despair and loneliness, no purpose to fulfil his empty, worthless life. He shook his head, reminding himself that no, that's not true, he _had_ a purpose now, he wasn't lonely anymore, he wasn't hurling himself into an endless abyss of despair. He had Aaron now, his best friend, and for some time he had been his only friend. Alexander smiled. Thomas and Hercules were his friends now too, again. He had friends again. He wasn't lonely anymore. He wasn't worthless anymore. He had a purpose again. A happy, bubbly feeling burbled inside of him and he chuckled delighted. He was... happy. He was just so happy.

He was just about to speak and tell Aaron of his thoughts, knowing Aaron would understand everything he said with absolute certainty, but Aaron was snoring quietly beside him, having dozed off at some point while letting the light warm his face. Aaron was smiling softly and Alexander chuckled. Aaron was dreaming something that made him happy. Alexander took a long look at him and wondered silently what he was dreaming. He shrugged and conjured up a bed of clouds below Aaron, careful not to shift him in a way that might wake him up from the pleasant dream he was having.

_Aaron sat in a wide field of red ground. He looked up into the sky and it was painted blood red. An iron smell lay in the air and there was something incredibly soft pressed into his hands. An even softer melody brushed against his ear like a hot breath and it made Aaron shiver. The melody was absolutely beautiful and Aaron found himself singing a song he didn't know._

_Bugs and Berries, Birds and bees  
Oh, they live in harmony  
Diamond Mountain, crystal sea  
How beautiful can my home be  
Silver snow and golden sun  
If away, to home I'll run  
If away, to home I'll run  
Em'rald grass, sapphire sky  
Happiness that makes me cry  
Pearly clouds, so white and soft  
Birds singing so high above  
My true home, where my heart is from  
Call for me and quick I'll come  
Call for me and quick I'll come_

_He opened his eyes again and felt something moving in his hands. He looked down. His hands were red and there were bits of skin and hair. His hands were empty while they had been full before. On the ground lay a familiar body, motionless, red. He tilted his head to the side and raised a brow._

_I did this._

His eyes shot open and he found himself lying in his and Alexander's bed. A smile creeped onto his lips again after this second of confusion.

"I must've fallen asleep..." he murmured to himself and stretched his limbs out.

"You slept for a while, you did! But you looked so happy and at peace, I just couldn't wake you. Did you have a nice dream? Looked like it!" Alexander smiled brightly at him from across the room, sitting at a table with a quill in his hand.

"I can't quite remember, to be honest. There was a lot of red, though. What are you doing there?" he pointed to the paper Alexander was writing something on.

"It's part of your present and it's not quite done yet. Why don't you go ahead into the woolmilkpig field?" he beamed and Aaron tilted his head.

"Wait, I slept into my birthday?" he asked but Alexander shook his head.

"No, you still have to wait an hour for it to be your birthday," Alexander replied and Aaron sighed in relief.

"I'm glad. I don't like sleeping into my birthday, you know," Aaron said and Alexander turned back to what he was doing and nodded with a laugh.

"Of course, I know! You're too paranoid for your own good, but it was always fun spending a full twenty-four hours with you on your birthdays. Though I must admit, the first time you woke me in the middle of the night had been startling," Alexander giggled and Aaron shook his head with a grin of his own.

"Hey, I couldn't help it! I always thought he'd come for me on my birthday. He didn't, in the end, but I think it was better that I only thought one day in the year to be worth worrying about endlessly for naught," Aaron slowly got up from the bed, careful not to look at what Alexander was, presumably, writing. "I'll go to the woolmilkpigs. I think a few of them might have to go to the chopping block soon. I'll see about that," he said and excused himself out of the room. Alexander smiled after him and shook his head and continued with what he was doing.

While Aaron made his way into the woolmilkpigs' field Thomas was impatiently waiting for when he would raise the sun. He knew that he wouldn't have to raise and direct the sun for a good few hours to come, but he felt he needed it, simply to distract himself from the boredom and his damn head spinning him into a net of questions he would never know the answer to.

He sighed and decided to leave the sun for the night and used James' light to go back to the realm of gods. He realised that no god except James was aware that he and Alexander were friends again and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. On one hand, he knew that all gods would shun him like they did Alexander, but the other half of him felt like it was somehow an act of betrayal against Alexander. He sighed. He would have to talk to Alexander about that and maybe together they would figure something out. He frowned and grumbled and the gods on the golden streets moved out of his way as soon as they saw him and his iron glare. It was an odd sight to them to see the god of the sun in such a dark mood. The hours passed while he was slowly walking to his palace when he noticed a commotion roaring at the palace of the Judge. He raised a brow at it and decided to check it out.

He walked to the palace, gliding on the light to get there much faster and was soon in front of the palace. Screaming and yelling came from inside the palace's walls and Thomas decided to open the door and look inside. A horde of gods was inside and making all the loud noises Thomas had heard. He frowned and cringed, he knew that Washington, the Judge, had had a headache for a long time and he knew that this would only worsen his pains. The servants inside were all trying their hardest and best to keep the gods from damaging anything. Washington then raised his voice to drown out everyone else's and everyone became quiet at once. Thomas shuddered. Washington had a great power over all the gods, it was scary and Thomas gulped as the spell the Judge's voice had taken an iron hold of him and forced his mouth shut and the whimper in his throat to be stuck there. That god was intimidating, dammit.

"You will all list your grievances one. After. The. Other!" his voice boomed. Washington rubbed at his temples and Thomas could just tell in how much pain he was. Washington pointed at a god, Maria, and she stepped forward. The spell was lifted from her and she began speaking.

"That disgrace glued a rotten woolmilkpig's egg onto my hand and now it hatched and the thing is horrible! It smells horrible and it's damn worthless!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and Washington visibly winced.

"Is that all?" he asked and Maria shook her head furiously.

"Not even close! I've got a list of three hundred years worth of horrible things he did to me!" Maria exclaimed and Thomas saw Washington hold down a groan. That would be a long day for him.

"Moving on," Washington said and waved his hand, silencing Maria and letting another god come to word.

"He flooded my palace and-"

"He led a stampede through-"

"He tricked me into-"

"He-"

"Enough!" Washington said, "Unless he did something that is absolutely never allowed to be done by anyone, no matter who they may be, I am not able to do anything against your grievances. So if you have nothing of the sort to complain about then-"

"Sir, if I may," James raised his hand and Washington glared at him.

"What is your grievance?" Washington said impatiently.

"The Wind brought a human to our realm," James said and everyone in the room gasped, including Thomas. Washington's eyes widened at this.

"He did WHAT?!" he boomed and everyone except James flinched.

"He brought a human to our world. Not any regular human, though. You might know him as, and I quote, 'the most beautiful creature of any realm'," James explained calmly.

Washington looked at him with shocked and wide-blown eyes. That was a rule that had absolutely no exceptions for anyone. No one was allowed to ever bring a human to their realm. And Alexander had done just that.

"I suppose that might be enough for you to punish him? After all, it is the one rule that applies to everyone. And he broke it. He's hiding him in his palace," James said and Thomas almost growled at him from his place at the door.

"That... that is enough to punish him for. However, it might take some time to actually act on it. You said he's hiding this human in his palace? He likely knows that we're aware of this broken rule. It is very unlikely that he will dare out of his palace with a punishment looming over his head," Washington said and James raised a brow.

"Can you not go through to him? Out of any of us, sir, you are the one that should be able to break the spell protecting his palace the most," James pointed out but Washington shook his head.

"The spell around his palace is no small one. It isn't even a spell I know of and it is impossible for even me to break it. I see no other way to... get him out of it," Washington said and James smirked.

"I might know a way..."

 

Aaron sat in the field, scratching Edel's chin and waiting for the hour to pass. He smiled down softly at the woolmilkpig happily oinking on its back.

"You know, Edel, Alexander has done so much for me. I'm _free_ because of him! I'm away from that awful place because of him! He allows me to take care of you and his palace as soon as I've learned it! And... I owe him so much... How am I going to repay him for it? I'm sure he'll deny that I owe him anything but... I do owe him... And I won't be able to start repaying him until in at least fifty years. I just... What if something happens? What if he stops existing before I can have a temple built for him and people to worship him! What if he just... stops existing? And... I'll be alone and... No, I think if that were to happen I'd... well, I'm sure either I'd take his role and take care of all of you without him and do what he would do or... I'd kill myself..." Aaron said solemnly and Edel oinked as though startled by the confession.

Suddenly, Aaron was hugged from behind. Hugged very tightly and he gasped.

"Please don't... Aaron, if I disappear, then I want you to live. Die in old age, but not by your own hands, I beg of you, please!" Alexander hiccuped into his back and Aaron smiled.

"Okay, I won't. But... Alexander, how much is left of you?" he asked, voice completely calm.

"Um... Well, not too much... I recently... lost my control over storms overall... Only my wind is left for me... But it's still strong enough to support me for quite a while, so don't you worry!" Alexander smiled at him and cuddled him. Aaron snorted.

"You know I never stop worrying," Aaron chuckled and Alexander shrugged his shoulders.

"I know, I know. Ah, that reminds me!" he said and pulled away from Aaron who then turned around to him. Alexander handed him a piece of parchment and beamed. "Happy Birthday! May the rest of your life be lived in freedom and happiness!"

Aaron took the parchment with a raised brow, "What is this?"

"Open it, then you know!" Alexander exclaimed and Aaron snorted and opened the parchment. Suddenly, on the parchment appeared lines, swirling together to create an intricate and detailed map with directions and... instructions? Aaron took a closer look at it and noticed two dots on one page with an AW and an AB floating over them.

"This is a map?" he suddenly realised. "This is a map!"

"Yep! I thought, maybe you could get lost or the rooms could change in such a way that you don't quite know where you are, and maybe I won't be here to teach you some of the things you want to learn in that moment, so I made it so that this map shows you all of that! Including where you and I are at any moment!" Alexander explained and Aaron beamed at him and suddenly threw himself at him and hugged him.

"This is the best present I've ever received! Thank you!" Aaron exclaimed and Alexander laughed.

"It's not quite the end of it!" Alexander said and Aaron pulled away and looked at him with a raised brow and a tilted head. Alexander got up and helped Aaron up and simply said, "Follow me."

Aaron nodded and let Alexander lead him out of the room and into the centre hall. He knew it was the centre hall when he looked at the map. There were only a few doors there, all had purple and black chains wrapped around them tightly and Alexander waved his hand, making one of the doors in mid-air float down to him and Aaron. He snapped his fingers and the chains around the door disappeared into nothing with a loud and bright blast and Aaron had to shield his eyes and ears from it. When he looked again the door was wide open, revealing a purple room on the inside and a pedestal with a staff sitting atop it.

Alexander took the staff and presented it to Aaron. Aaron looked at the staff and then at Alexander.

"Come on, take it!" Alexander said and Aaron hesitantly took the staff into his hands. The staff was blue and looked like rivers swirling into one crystal tip. Atop the crystal was a tornado twirling, but motionless. Aaron felt a strong power surge through him and he yelped and winced and held the staff away from him and closed his eyes. A strong wind came from around him and pushed him into Alexander and them into the nearest wall. Alexander made him point the staff upwards and the winds died down.

"Wh-what is this?" he asked and Alexander beamed.

"This is the tornado staff. Like the hurricane spear, it can summon my winds, my strongest winds. Unlike my hurricane spear, it can only summon a tornado at its strongest and not a full on storm and/or hurricane. Unlike me or my palace, this thing will not ever lose its power," he explained.

"And you'd just let me have this?" Aaron asked.

"Of course! Really, I allow you to use anything in here, but this one is _yours_ ," he said and Aaron beamed at him.

"Thank you!" Aaron exclaimed and threw his arms around Alexander's neck and cuddled into him with the staff in his other hand. "Will you teach me how to use it?"

"Well, this one, I think, you should try to figure out by yourself," Alexander winked.

"Aw! You just want to see me fail trying to use it!"

"So?" Alexander grinned and Aaron waved the staff at him and a strong wind hurled Alexander across the room, laughing all the way. "See? You can do it all without me! My little baby, growing up so quick!"

"Oh, stop it!" Aaron grinned and laughed heartily.

Suddenly, there came a loud screeching from outside and Alexander perked up immediately.

"What was that?" Aaron asked.

"That's... A carrier? What's a carrier doing out there?" he mumbled to himself and exited the room, Aaron following him. They exited the palace and the screeching from outside grew louder. "It's stuck in the storm."

Alexander flew into the storm and soon came out of it again to Aaron, carrying a small imp with wings in his arms that was trembling and shivering strongly and sneezing and coughing a whole lot.

"What is that?" he asked and Alexander examined the small creature in his arms.

"It's a carrier. These creatures carry messages and presents and so on from one god to another. Each god has their own, mine's dead, though. This one-" his eyes widened and he gasped, "This is the Judge's! What could he want from me?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't look like this little guy was carrying anything. Poor thing, forced to go through those storms... How did it do that anyway?" Aaron asked and scratched behind the imp's ear. The small creature opened its eyes and stared up at Aaron absolutely mesmerized and squealed in delight.

"Well, it looks like it likes you," Alexander mused, "Besides, these things carry the messages in a pocket in their stomachs. Come on, little guy, spit it out."

The imp hesitantly stood up, stumbling a bit and turned around to Alexander and gave its stomach a pat and opened its mouth. A yellow glow came out and with it, a scroll manifested in mid-air. Alexander snatched it out of the air and handed Aaron the imp. The imp seemed extremely happy in Aaron's arms and snuggled into him with delighted squeaks. Aaron smiled down at it.

"Aw, it's adorable!" Aaron squealed delighted and cuddled the imp, its fur was so soft!

Alexander opened the scroll and slowly began reading what was written on it in the cursive letters he had grown to hate with all his being.

_To the god of winds,_

_The court has decided to pardon you for the perceived crimes you have committed over the years of your life in death. To receive the pardon come to the court in three days of receiving this notification or the pardon shall be revoked._

_It would be my pleasure to present to you the pardon personally, Alexander._

_With most sincerity_

_Judge of gods, Washington_

Alexander froze in his place and Aaron looked onto the scroll and read it too. It was such a short note, but it had such a power to it, Aaron couldn't stop the shiver that ran up and down his spine.

"H-he called me by my name..." Alexander muttered to himself.

"That's great! Isn't it?" Aaron replied and Alexander looked at him with a shocked expression, eyes blown wide and mouth agape.

Suddenly, Alexander squealed loudly and jumped at Aaron and jumped up and down with excitement.

"This is so great! They- they accept me! The Judge has decided to pardon me! M-maybe now things... Maybe now things can go back to the way they were!" Alexander exclaimed with so much excitement, his grin spread across his whole face and his cheeks became red and his eyes welled up with happy tears.

"This is amazing! Oh, I'm just so happy for you! Finally, you get what you deserve!" Aaron beamed and hugged Alexander tightly, the imp having jumped onto his back as to not be squished between them.

"I'll have to leave immediately. Oh, this is so great! Hey, and kinda convenient! You know, I heard of this flute that hypnotises people, and I really think it would be a great addition to my collection! I thought I wouldn't be able to leave until this thing blew over, but if they pardon me, even for this, then I can go and get it immediately! Expect me back in a few days, alright?" Alexander jumped up and down and Aaron nodded excitedly.

"Of course! I can take care of things here while you're away!" Aaron replied and pointed to the map fastened at his waist.

"Alright! I should probably take the carrier with me," he said and grabbed the imp by the back of its neck. the imp protested loudly to be taken away from Aaron. Alexander waved Aaron goodbye and flew up and away through the storm and the tornado.

Alright, Aaron thought as he went back inside of the palace, let's do this. And he began to study the map in his hands, noting the different rooms and the things that were supposedly in them according to what Alexander had written on the parchment for him. He smiled and snorted at some of the instructions. They were sometimes so obvious and really sarcastic. He knew that no one else could have made this map like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... hahahahahaha... Don't get too comfortable...


	17. Chapter 17

Alexander was giddy and so utterly excited he felt like he would burst from it any second. The Judge would pardon him! The court would pardon him! His excitement was expressed with a beaming grin stabbing at his cheeks. His grin was so wide it soon became painful, but he simply couldn't stop grinning, his happiness and excitement wouldn't allow for it. His winds were whipping behind him and hurled him forward quicker and quicker, beating against him, he just couldn't wait to be there, he had to be there quick. He was utterly beside himself with excitement!

The Judge's palace and the court were not far away anymore, perhaps five miles if he wasn't mistaken and he urged his winds to pick up further which they could only scarcely do. The carrier was desperately clinging onto his back and screeched and whimpered in fear, utterly terrified. He arrived at the palace in under a minute almost out of breath and landed tumbling over. He didn't pay it any mind and jumped up immediately after he regained orientation. He knew his way around and inside the palace easily and even without being noticed, years of pranking and scheming paid off nicely at points, and he quickly flitted through the entrance to where he knew was the courtroom, where he had to be, to be pardoned. His face grew brighter as he approached the doors to the courtroom and his delight beamed from his face and lit up the room that had seemed so grey before but now seemed so much brighter than before. He set down the carrier and watched it scurry away from him and to somewhere inside the palace but he paid it no mind.

He threw open the doors with a dramatic flourish, making for an entrance for the theatres, not noticing how they didn't hit the walls as he walked in. The courtroom looked somehow odd to him, somehow blurry, but he rubbed his eyes and didn't pay it much of his mind as he went further inside. But then he stilled in movement completely. There was no one inside. Not even the Judge. He froze and his brows furrowed puzzled and bewildered. He looked around in confusion. Could it be that he was early? Was the Judge not prepared this early for him? He did come immediately upon receiving the letter but... this did not seem like it should be like this. He felt like he shouldn't be here. Like he wasn't actually welcome. Did the Judge regret his decision to pardon him and decide against it? Maybe he already sent a letter and Alexander wasn't home to receive it. His stomach churned. He had an awful feeling. Suddenly an odd feeling overtook him and he felt like he was shrinking against his will. In confusion, he looked around again. Then, every light in the room was suddenly gone, everything was pitch-black, he couldn't see anything and Alexander flinched back, eyes wide in sudden fear but he nervously laughed at himself, figuring the other gods or even just the Judge was just getting him back for all the pranks over the years. A bit tasteless to try and scare him but a notable effort all the same. He looked around, finding there was still a light coming from the entrance.

"Well, someone didn't pay his oil bills!" he joked with a nervous laugh but there was no response. He bit his lip and gulped nervously. The feeling in his stomach felt awful, like a drought and a flood at the same time and fire burning up his throat and every bone twisting and turning and contorting his limbs in his body. His breathing picked up, he fell into a defensive stance, ready to bolt out of there if need be, and his heart began beating against his ribcage so hard he was afraid it would burst through his flesh. His eyes scanned the room, but he couldn't see anything except the light that came from the entrance which, oddly, did not illuminate the room in the slightest. He was careful and cautiously approached the entrance before an anger overtook him and he dropped his guard.

"You know what? Screw this. If you just wanted to get back at me, you could've not lied to me!" he yelled into the dark and stomped towards the entrance angrily, ready to take his leave. He felt played with and he couldn't believe that he actually believed what the letter had said. He should've known. It had reeked of fake if he thought about it. Hindsight.

Suddenly, there was Washington's voice, but it was booming through the room and it was deafeningly loud. Alexander had to cover his ears but the voice could still pierce through his covered ears with a deafening volume.

"Wind. For three centuries you have been dead and have committed crime after crime against which the court could do nothing. Until now. Now you have broken the one rule which is unforgivable no matter who breaks it. You have brought a human, a mortal, to our realm. This crime cannot and will not be forgiven by the court. This, Wind, shall be your punishment," the voice boomed and Alexander's eyes widened. He had run right into a trap. Before the Judge could speak the last word he bolted for the entrance, the exit in this case, but something was wrong. His winds wouldn't come for him and carry him. He tried to turn himself into wind, but something inside him was keeping him from it. There was something inside him that pushed back every bit of his power and he couldn't overcome it, no matter how hard he tried to push. He no choice but to run, and he knew that even if he were only running he was faster than any other god, but he wasn't fast enough. The entrance to the courtroom suddenly closed, everything was pitch black, and Alexander ran into a wall.

He lost orientation for a second. He shook his head violently, he was dizzy. He stood back up and felt for the wall he had run into. The wall was cold and- it was smooth? It was smooth like glass! Alexander brows furrowed, confused and bewildered. He felt along the glass, feeling for any weak points, but there were none. This glass was tight, amazing work, whoever made it. Certainly not perfect, but it was enough to keep a dead god inside. He noted how towards the entrance the glass became slightly thinner than everywhere else and he shook his head. While the rest had been made exceedingly well, whoever made it was too impatient to finish it with the same quality as the beginning. It wasn't bad enough that he could break it and break out, but it was noticeable enough to annoy him. Suddenly, he felt like he was growing again and he realized that Washington had used his powers to shrink him to put him - and he couldn't bloody believe it - into a jar!

"Seriously?! A jar?!" he yelled and scoffed, "A jar! You bloody put me in a jar! My prison is a jar!" Alexander was grown big enough to stand and sit in the glass jar and just barely touch the glass with the rest of his body. "Really, you couldn't have thought of anything better than this? Are you gonna put me on display now?"

"That would be difficult, Wind, for this glass is black. And this is the only way we could've captured you without you having any means to escape," Washington replied with a stern tone and Alexander shrunk in on himself.

"And all this effort for little old me?" he asked, trying to sound like this fazed him not.

"Don't play games, Wind," Washington said coldly.

"I don't play games, Judge. It just seems a bit... much to do all this, make all this effort, just to put me in a prison? It's a bit much, don't you think?" Alexander asked, angry, but trying not to make it too obvious.

"You have broken the one rule no one may ever break, Wind. You have brought a mortal to our rea-"

"To protect him! Don't you know how sought after he is right now in the other realm? There is a king who is looking for him to marry him, and every other kingdom of that continent is ready to go to war to obtain him! He was kept inside of a palace that was his prison for the past ten years! He had nowhere to go, Judge! What was I supposed to do?" Alexander asked, angry and offended, then, more quietly he added, "What was I supposed to do?"

"It was not your business, to begin with, Wind," Washington answered and Alexander scoffed.

"That, right there, is where you're wrong! It was my business from the day I had met him, Judge! He is my best friend, my only friend f- my only friend... Judge, I meant no harm bringing him here. I know I broke a rule, shame on me, but there was nothing else I could have done. I couldn't have just put him anywhere, he would have been in constant danger! He isn't even staying permanently. We had only planned for him to stay up here until people eventually forgot about him. That means about fifty years minimum, a hundred years maximum! I was only trying to help!" Alexander defended his case, but Washington shook his head which Alexander couldn't see.

"No, Wind, that does not matter. You have broken a sacred rule and I have to punish you for this. You have evaded punishment for your previous crimes simply by the virtue of being dead. And odd thing too," Washington answered and Alexander's brows furrowed.

"Previous crimes? You mean my pranks? Really? I mean. _Really_? Really, Judge?" Alexander asked incredulously.

"Yes, Wind, your pranks count as crimes, as often as the other gods come to me to complain about them," Washington said and Alexander cringed.

"Okay, sorry about that, that must've been a lot of work I put on you," Alexander apologized and put a hand on the glass, sympathetic.

"It is mainly because you're dead. I wouldn't take it as personally if it didn't worsen my headache," Washington explained.

"I'm sorry..." Alexander sat down, brows furrowed. He was angry, he had been tricked. He was mad, he had been imprisoned. He was afraid, he didn't know when, or if he would get out of here. But he knew he was here because he broke a legit rule, not just because of his pranks. An odd feeling crept into his stomach and spread through his entire body. He was trapped. His breathing picked up, soon he was close to hyperventilating. He pressed his body against the glass and hugged himself tightly in a desperate attempt to remain calm, to remain collected and on top of things, but he quickly realized that he wasn't. He wasn't calm. He wasn't collected. And he was not at all on top of things. 

His world came crashing down on him in an avalanche. Never before had he been trapped, and he had never known how it felt, and even now he wasn't sure. He didn't know how to describe this feeling if it even could be described. He wanted to run, to fly away, but he was stuck. And he couldn't get away. He couldn't get away. His movement was limited and he was confined in a small space, too small to satisfy this itch in his legs and his hands to move them. To run, to fly, to create and destroy. Tears pricked at his eyes as he realized just what had happened. He had been tricked and imprisoned. Tears ran down his cheeks as he silently cried. He made no sound but he moved violently with every hiccup he suppressed by pressing his hands tightly to his mouth and biting on them.

Washington knew Alexander was crying. Alexander was rarely quiet in his experience, and he felt it in his core how the dead god felt. And it hurt him. He held no ill feelings or grudges against Alexander, even though he was dead. As a god under Washington's rule, he was practically his child, like every other god. He looked upon the phial in his hands, it wasn't a jar like Alexander had thought, and he remembered the day Alexander had died.

_It was a bit of a spectacle. Washington was sitting in the courtroom, alone. His court had adjourned and he was staying behind to look over some lists of hearings. They were long but he would be able to work through them in about a decade or so and have peace for a few years before the new complaints would flow in for a decade worth of work. Suddenly the earth and everything shook with such a might that it threw not only him but everyone else to the ground with its force. His heart was pierced with unbearable pain and he gasped and winced away and shrunk in on himself. The pain spread throughout his body and felt as though a thousand swords were cutting through him and piercing him repeatedly. Like stones were thrown at him with masterful precision. Like he was thrown into a pit of flesh-eating ants and they were having a feast with him fit for gods. He was whimpering and crying out at the pain and he instinctively knew what caused it. He knew it too well and he was desperately afraid that it was true, hoping that if he denied its truth that it would stop being true. Yet, somehow, something was different about this pain. But he knew in his heart what this was. A god has died. And he knew too well which one. The freest spirit this realm had to offer. Alexander, god of winds. He was dead. Washington gasped as the pain shot anew through his body, through every vein, through every fibre of his being, but it was a pain of grief. Alexander was dead and, by all logic, gone. Washington knew that a dead god was gone. No one would remember them, except him. He remembered the dead gods, knew the exact second when they had died. Everone else would be aware of a god's death, but would not remember them a second after they had died. Gods who were close to them would feel the loss more pronounced and would feel for a long time afterwards like there was something missing, like something wasn't there that _should_ be there. They would feel alone and would not know why. But he knew. He knew it too well. And he was absolutely powerless against it. Once a god was dead, they were gone forever. This pain rippled through him and he couldn't breathe for a minute tears were pricking at his eyes and flowing out of them down his cheeks and onto the ground. The pain in his heart was unbearable. He clutched at his chest in an attempt to calm his hurting heart but it wouldn't work. It never did and yet he tried again and again to calm the pain in his heart like he didn't know it was a pointless endeavour. A pointless endeavour._

_But that same day he was surprised. The pain had not yet subsided when he heard complaints about a god. He had thought nothing of it until he heard the god of autumn spit out the title, rather than the name. Wind. His eyes had widened when he had heard the name, the title being spit at him with venom dripping from every letter. He asked, how can this be? He is dead! And the god of autumn had no answer. Washington's heart was yearning to see the god he thought- no, he KNEW he was dead! Alexander was dead, he didn't exist anymore. By all logic, he shouldn't exist anymore! Alexander was brought to him a few days later, he had disappeared for a while. Alexander was confused and angry and bewildered and looked like he was in such an intense pain that it clouded his mind. Washington's heart pained when he saw him because he knew he should not be there. He wanted to feel glad, happy, elated that Alexander wasn't gone, but he knew that he absolutely should be gone. He shouldn't exist anymore! He didn't know how to react and the other gods, even the gods who had been especially close to Alexander, now shunned him like he was a bag of useless dirt filled with a disease that could threaten them. And they had every right to feel that way. They felt that Alexander shouldn't exist, they somehow felt and knew that he was dead and they didn't know how to react to him but by shunning him._

Washington remembered that day like it had just happened. Alexander shouldn't exist anymore. He was dead and yet he was here, in his hands, helpless and unable to do anything. Washington's hands were trembling as he remembered the pain and lived through it anew. Every time a god died he felt like he lost a child and it was no different with Alexander. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Something had felt different that day. The pain had been somewhat different. It had been a minor difference, but as minor as it was, it was a difference. He knew in his core there had been a difference in the pain but he could not say what that difference was or what it had meant.

He let out a sigh and summoned a silver chain and attached it to the phial. He looked down at it and decided to wear it as a necklace around his neck and placed it accordingly. He would not be so cruel as to leave Alexander to his lonesome. He knew just well enough what being alone would do to you, no matter if you were a god or a mortal, it hit them both equally as bad. He brushed gently against the glass of the phial, subconsciously hoping that Alexander might feel his sympathy and his pain and had some comfort from them. Alexander could, in fact, feel it, even a bit stronger than Washington wanted him to, and his crying worsened. He wanted to be out of there. He wanted to see Aaron. His eyes burned with the tears but he did not feel tired like he usually would. He could not fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. He so desperately wanted to fall asleep, perhaps forever. But this mercy was not granted to him and instead his prison kept him mercilessly awake through his pain and the pain he felt coming from the Judge. He would never get out of there, he thought, his despair swallowing him whole. He would never get out of there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I calculated the speed at which Alexander was going in that minute it took him to arrive to the palace I mentioned and if my calculations are correct (which they probably aren't) he's going at 482.8 km/h or 300 mph!!


	18. Chapter 18

Aaron was pacing up and down the main hall, waiting and waiting and waiting, anxiously playing with a chain in his hands he found in Alexander's crafting room. A whole week had passed at this point and Aaron was sure, very very sure, that Alexander had told him he'd only be gone for a few days. He was sure, absolutely sure, that Alexander said that and nothing else. He knew it had been a whole week. The map Alexander had given him had a functioning clock and the hands of it had passed the six fourteen times. He wasn't sure exactly what to do, or heck, even what to think! His head imagined Alexander's death a couple hundred times in many gruesome and torturous ways and the sights his mind conjured made him sick to the stomach as well as to the heart. He was so afraid for Alexander, he had had no peaceful moment after the third day had passed. He knew a few days meant three days for Alexander. A few days are three, a few weeks were three, a few months were three to five, a few years only two, a few hours were four, a few minutes were five to ten, he knew _exactly_ what Alexander meant whenever he said 'a few'.

Suddenly he felt a ripple run through his body and a shiver ran down his spine. Somehow he knew that this was caused by something outside of the palace and he exited to investigate. He felt a presence behind the protection spell, and it was a familiar presence. It was a presence of two, a god and a muse. He knew that this was Hercules and Thomas. He didn't quite know how he knew, but he just did. He grabbed the tornado staff he had strapped onto his back and waved it in a circle, counter-clockwise and a hole appeared in the tornado, letting the god and the muse pass without difficulty. Hercules still had to clutch onto Thomas not to fall down and Thomas carried him to the palace. Thomas had an odd look in his eyes but Aaron, in his frenzy, did not notice. Hercules had many scrolls in his arm, trying not to let them drop.

"Hello, Aaron! Where's Alexander? I found something he really needs to see!" Hercules beamed, but his smile soon dropped when he noticed Aaron's worried glare. "What's wrong?"

"Hercules, Thomas, have you seen Alexander? He's been gone for a full week- he said he'd only be gone for a few days!" Aaron exclaimed the full extent of his worry spread out in his voice. Hercules frowned in confusion and worry. Thomas mimicked his expression to the best of his abilities.

"I- I haven't? Thomas, have you seen him?" Hercules looked at Thomas who had a comical look of worry on his face.

"He- Yeah, I did see him. He just came from the Judge's palace, but I'm not sure where he is now. I'm sure he said something, but I can't quite remember. Something with... No, I can't remember," Thomas said, he became hot quite suddenly.

"He said he heard of a flute that hypnotizes people! He said he'd go and get it after he went to- Oh, whatever his name is! But he said he'd only be gone for a few days! It doesn't make any sense!" Aaron whimpered, "He said he'd only be gone for a few days."

"Maybe something came between him and that flute. Maybe it's difficult to get? He could just be caught up in something," Thomas reasoned with a gulp.

"Do you think so? But Alexander never... He'd never... I know he would somehow make me know that he was caught in something!" Aaron insisted and Thomas shrugged his shoulders and went in to hug Aaron's distressed frame.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know. Tell you what, I'm gonna keep an eye out during the day, an extra careful eye and I'll look for him. Any bit I find of him, I'll tell you immediately!" Thomas promised and Aaron nodded.

"Yes, do that! Hercules, keep an eye out for him too, yes?" Aaron nodded his head and pulled away from Thomas to look at Hercules with pleading and terrified eyes. Hercules quickly and furiously nodded.

"Of course! I'll make sure to find him somewhere down there!" Hercules promised.

Aaron then made the pair leave, letting Hercules drop the scrolls he wanted to show Alexander and he picked them up and carried them inside. He pulled out his map and looked for an empty room, but there was none and he grumbled. He let some clouds appear in the main hall, which was supposed to be a desk, and put down the scrolls onto them.

Thomas brought Hercules back into the mortals realm and immediately fled the scene back into his sun. He made it so that no one could enter it, he barricaded himself in the sun. Pearls of sweat ran a race down his forehead and he cowered in a corner to the top of the sun, rocking back and forth.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" he repeated like a mantra. His insides were twisting and contorting painfully, like a pathetic worm caught in the sunlight, slowly drying out in its last, torturously slow seconds before its death. His insides were shrivelling up and spreading out again like the rhythm of a heart but somehow contorted and abstract, like a horrible and cruel parody of it. His breath was quick and even quicker was his heartbeat, furiously beating him from the inside out, attempting to beat through his chest, through the flesh and make a bloody mess, dragging his insides out with it. He felt like vomiting, but nothing would push past his throat, yet everything felt like it was twisting and contorting, even his throat. There was a knot in his stomach, a knot in his throat, a knot in his heart and he was suffocating.

He had lied to Aaron. He had lied to Hercules. Dammit, he had lied to them! He knew exactly what had happened to Alexander, yet he was too much of a damn coward! He was too much of a coward to tell them! He didn't want Aaron to worry, and now he made him worry even more! But he couldn't simply tell him. He knew he couldn't simply tell him! Aaron would try to do something, but he couldn't! And Thomas couldn't let him try to do something! Washington, the Judge, was the most powerful god of them. He had power over the other gods! If he wanted, he could make a god do _anything_ for him! It was rumoured that he could kill a god. And he could certainly kill Aaron without much of a try. One wave with his hand and Washington could make Aaron dissolve before his very eyes. Thomas shuddered at the image. He could not let that happen. He would have to keep Aaron from figuring it out. He would have to keep Aaron, and Hercules, from knowing Alexander's fate. It wouldn't be too hard, he figured. He knew that Hercules was now shunned like Alexander. Hercules had made the mistake of openly being a friend of Alexander, while only James, who for some reason hadn't told anyone, knew of Thomas' actual feelings towards Alexander. Thomas was shaken by the intense anger he felt at even the mere thought of his name.

James, the prick, he had used what little Thomas told him to its maximum potential completely against Alexander! Thomas hadn't thought that this little knowledge he didn't even know he had possessed could be so harmful in James' hands. But he knew that James did know very bloody well how to use anything given to him, be it against you or not it didn't matter, as long as it profited him in one way or another. Thomas stilled for a second, what did it do for James? James wouldn't have just thrown Alexander under the bus like that- yes, even though it was Alexander. Thomas knew he wouldn't just do that. But what had made James do it then? James had to have profited from it in one way or another! Did he perhaps think that it would put him into the Judge's good graces?

Thomas simply didn't know, and he was seething with absolute fury. He noticed he had begun steaming from fury and shook his head. He would make sure that neither Aaron nor Hercules would figure out about Alexander's fate.

 

Alexander was quiet in his prison. He knew Washington was with him, he could hear him and what was going on, too. Washington was in the middle of a hearing, alone, and some god, the god of Autumn was complaining about the god of Winter always following him too closely, making it winter before he was even fully done with his work. Alexander nodded along, the god of Autumn was right. The time between autumn and winter was too short, much too short, and he knew exactly why that was. But it brought many problems for the realm below. The winter came too quick and they couldn't prepare right. Many had died with the sudden cold and it simply couldn't do.

"Do tell, when has this started?" Washington asked and Alexander knew the answer. He had watched it closely and had pranked both gods at that time.

"I don't quite know when it started, but you have to tell him not to follow me anymore! He has no right!" the god of Autumn yelled and Washington hissed, his headache screaming.

"Hey," Alexander made himself heard. He knew that only Washington could hear him, "Winter has followed autumn too quickly for ten years and a day. He's in love with him but doesn't have the guts to actually tell him. He knows he shouldn't do it, but he can't bear to be away for that long."

Washington raised a brow and let Alexander hear a voice that didn't sound to anyone else's ears.

"How do you know this?" he asked him.

"It's really obvious! He has been following for so long, so closely, and you know the seasons are anything but hateful towards each other. Well, as long as they're in harmony," Alexander replied.

"In harmony?" Washington asked. To the god of autumn, time wasn't moving forward.

"Yeah? Wait, you didn't know? Wait, wait, wait! There is something _you_ of all didn't know?!" his voice was anything but mocking, he was genuinely flabbergasted and surprised.

"Pray tell what you mean," Washington raised his brow in interest.

"Oh, boy, good thing you're already sitting, cause this would've thrown you off balance! Okay, look: The goddess of Spring, the goddess of Summer, the god of Autumn and the god of Winter all depend on each other to work properly. As long as they're in harmony, they're working and functioning perfectly fine. As long as they're working perfectly fine, they're in harmony. If one falls out of line, everything else will come crashing down. As soon as the harmony is gone, everything will crash and burn. Simply because they will begin to see the fault in each other and refuse to work together. I'm surprised you didn't know, it happened already once!" Alexander replied and Washington was more than surprised.

"This happened once already?" he asked and Alexander nodded.

"Yeah, back when I was alive. I think 400 years ago! But it was between the goddess of Summer and the goddess of Spring, same situation! The goddess of Summer was in love with the goddess of Spring! I got wind of the whole thing played matchmaker for them! I had them confess their love to each other in under a week! A personal record!" Alexander laughed and Washington blinked in surprise.

"So... the solution to this problem is... to matchmake? Really?" Washington asked and Alexander nodded.

"Yup! Trust me!"

"I'm not sure if I should," he admitted.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm not that stupid, Judge. Lying to you and thus making you angry at me is the last thing I want to do, really," Alexander said truthfully. Washington carefully considered his words and nodded.

"Alright, Wind. I'll give you this chance to prove yourself. Do tell me, how do I help these two?" he nodded and Alexander beamed.

"Alright! First of all, you gotta promise him to take care of this problem and send him away. Next, you have to arrange it so that both gods are stuck together in a closed room. A bit cliché, but trust me, it works for us. At some point they will confront each other about it, and if we're lucky they'll blurt out their emotions at each other. As soon as they did, you have to let them out. Be careful not to make it known that you're behind it all. I'd say blame me for it, but I'm sure you made it known I was taken care of. Just blame a rogue carrier if anyone asks. No, better! Tell them it's _my_ carrier! It'll be easy to believe, they know my carrier is just like me! Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!" Alexander beamed and grew excited. Washington chuckled at this, though he wanted to ask about his carrier, as something didn't seem right about that. Somehow Alexander was still the same. Or at least almost the same. Washington felt a certain bitterness lying at Alexander's core. But Alexander knew how to cover it up easily. He did have three centuries worth of practice in it. But Washington thought it still beautiful how Alexander could mostly keep his free spirit.

Washington halted. A free spirit. Alexander was a free spirit. Washington knew, none of his subjects, no other god cherished freedom as much as Alexander. Washington knew exactly what he had done when he thought of a way to punish Alexander. He knew he wouldn't care if anything else had happened to him. He knew only taking away his freedom, the thing he cherished most above all, would do for punishment. He wasn't sure exactly what it would do to him. What would imprisonment do to a creature that, up until that day, only knew freedom? He didn't quite know.

He decided to follow Alexander's plan. He promised the god of Autumn that he'd take care of his problem and sent him away. He then arranged it so that a message was sent to both the god of Winter and the god of Autumn to meet in the forest near Thomas' palace. In the forest was a hut, no one knew why or how it was there, even Washington wasn't sure. But he knew that he could manipulate it so that once both gods were inside they couldn't come out. And thus he did. He sent a flying eye to watch the scene and he was very positively surprised.

Alexander's plan was working well! Both gods were screaming at each other, letting out all of their frustrations until, suddenly, the god of Winter blurted out a confession that made the god of Autumn freeze on the spot. Alexander told him to let them go now and he opened the door to let them out, but both gods were now talking, not noticing how the door had opened. Alexander smirked and told him to stop watching, they were now able to sort through it without his help.

A week later both gods came to Washington, telling him how they had resolved the conflict on their own and Alexander couldn't help but smirk in triumph.

"Ha _ha_! See! I told you! I knew where the problem really was!" Alexander beamed and smirked. Washington couldn't help but share some of his excitement.

"True, true. And I thank you for your insight. I'll be sure to ask you again if a similar problem should arise," Washington said and Alexander laughed.

"Similar problems? If you speak of the goddess of Disease and the god of Famine, that's an easy fix! Send both fake letters that confess their love to each other and have them confront each other! Really, that's just too easy!" Alexander scoffed and Washington raised a brow, "You know I can be used for more than simple matchmaking, right?"

"I'll have to see about that," Washington replied and Alexander huffed offended.

"I know more than you think," he insisted, but when Washington asked him what he meant he refused to respond.

Suddenly, Washington was hit with another wave of nauseating pain and he winced and flinched and whimpered, holding his head tightly to try and calm the pain, but it wouldn't work. He was just grateful that no one else was in the room with him. The pain filled his entire head, a constant and yet irregular throbbing, like a worm pulsating through his head, through every cell and vein. He didn't notice how he hit the ground and only felt it afterwards, a numb throbbing in his shoulder. He was dizzy, the world was turning on its head and spinning and spinning. Everything was blurry and there was a shrill whistling sound in his ears and he couldn't hear a thing. The world was black for him for a moment until he suddenly heard a shrill screaming and slowly came to again.

"JUDGE! JUDGE! DAMMIT, WHAT HAPPENED?!" Alexander yelled, worried beyond belief and terrified.

"I... don't know," Washington admitted.

"Symptoms, stat," Alexander demanded with a stern tone that surprised Washington.

"Um... headache, intense pain, dizziness, I lost consciousness I believe..." he listed in his surprise.

"Loud, deafeningly loud whistling sound in your ears? Or in your head?" Alexander asked.

"Um... ears...?" Washington answered, still feeling odd from the sudden attack of pain. Alexander let out a relieved sigh.

"Okay, that's good. Alright, here's what you do. You will order for the following things to be brought to you- write this down," Alexander said and Washington hesitantly nodded. He still wasn't quite there yet, but Alexander's tone convinced him somehow to follow his directions. He pulled out quill and parchment. Alexander dictated it for him, "You will order for Black tooth leaves, not the blooms, the leaves; rose petals from the forest near Thomas' palace; water from the waterfall that gives the water to the lake that is the entrance to the underworld; white fire from Thomas' sun and a feather of your pegasus. I will tell you how to prepare these ingredients later. First of all, you have to get them."

Washington nodded and wrote the things down Alexander told him to. He wasn't sure what made him follow Alexander's instructions, but he called for his carrier and gave it the list to fetch the items Alexander had demanded.

"Alright, while we wait you have to keep yourself calm and relaxed. Now, tell me this: how long have you had these attacks?" Alexander asked and Washington sat into a more comfortable chair and rubbed his temples.

"This is the first. It's been only headaches up until now," he replied, covering his eyes because the light made his eyes hurt.

"Okay, that's good, that's good," Alexander replied absent-mindedly.

"Would you please tell me what's going on?" Washington asked, his mind now clearer.

"I don't know what it's called, but I've seen this many times in the realm below. Many humans, heck, many animals had these exact same symptoms as you have. It's caused by a parasite in your head that gets in there as a worm while you sleep. Nasty little creature, extremely deadly," Alexander explained and Washington's eyes widened.

"A-and how do you know of the cure to it? I assume you made me call for ingredients for a cure, correct?" Washington asked, light fear seeping into his voice.

"They create a potion that will make it so that the parasite can't feed on your head anymore. It will die while it's still inside you, and its offspring will too, and eventually, your body will recognize it as something that shouldn't be there and get rid of it. It will take three days for the parasite to die and seven more for it to begin to dissolve. You will feel very light-headed, you will feel like you're floating - you're not - and it will make you dizzy. You should be seated at all times and endure no stress. In fact, simply don't let anyone, and I repeat, _don't let anyone_ disturb you for those ten days!" Alexander explained and Washington nodded.

"Why did you not tell me before about this?" he asked.

"I was dead. The parasite was in your head... I estimate it was for about four years?" Alexander replied.

"Three," Washington corrected and Alexander nodded.

"I didn't know, I was dead. I could've helped had I known. But I wasn't alive, and who here would tell _me_ of all people if something was wrong? Never mind, I couldn't have helped," Alexander explained.

"I see... that is a true shame, Wind. You seem... you seem to know many things... many things even I didn't know..." Washington murmured.

"Eh, it comes with my field of work. I roam the world, you know. Being the wind gives me a lot... of freedom..." Alexander let out a bitter laugh, "Well, it _gave_ me a lot of freedom, but hey, glad I could help..."

"Thank you..." Washington replied.


	19. Chapter 19

James sat quietly in his palace, the silence around him in the dead of the night weighing on his shoulders like the mountain on his heart. The darkness engulfed the room in thick layers of black paint, painting over everything. James could see nothing. It was a new moon and he needn't watch the world below. He didn't need to see anything. He knew perfectly well where everything was. There wasn't a sound within his palace. His heart wouldn't beat its rhythm for him, his breath wouldn't dare past his lips. He felt nothing but heaviness. Everything was heavy. His heart was buried under a mountain, a world lay crushing on his shoulders and the silence of the room was drowning and crushing him under its mass.

A sharp breath, a cruel parody of a sigh shot past his gritted teeth and tightly shut lips and pierced the silence of the room like a well-aimed arrow, until it hit the wall and proved to have not had much of an effect on the silence. Yet the effect it had rippled through the room like a drop on calm water. It was hardly anything special, but it was a disruption. Pieces of the broken silence rained down on him like a storm and the thought made his heart under the mountain ache and writhe.

His mind wandered into forests of thoughts he hated. He knew not to wander there, but his mind always wandered and got lost in them and it always took him days to find his way out. Now again, his mind was lost in this forest. He knew once upon a time, he had loved this forest of thoughts, but now the mere notion of it made him sick to the stomach. Not because he had grown to hate it naturally, but because it had been ripped from him once and given back to him the same day tainted.

A growl escaped his loosened lips as he desperately tried to find his way out of this forest his mind had gotten lost in. But his mind wouldn't venture onwards. It wouldn't move and it infuriated him. It was stubbornly stuck in the same space, stubbornly refusing to move on. An end was not in sight nor was it in mind and he threw an arm over his eyes in shame.

A guilt was crushing him like the mountain on his heart or the world on his shoulders. A shame spread through his stomach, a parasite of shame feasting on his body and his mind, picking his heart as its next target. It was eating him alive, shame and guilt. His heart was beating, pounding harshly in protest under the mountain as his mind scolded him for what he had done. He had tried to relieve the aching pain his thoughts had brought him, but in trying so he did not only fail to be relieved, but it only brought him guilt and shame that were now having a feast eating him alive.

The silence was now completely broken, the shards of it piercing into his ears. He let it happen. He let the pain, the ache, the guilt and shame consume him so utterly and completely. He deserved nothing better.

The door to the room flew open in a crash, breaking the door and surely part of the wall it hit, and piercing the thick darkness with violent light that chased to him and scratched his eyes out. He was blind for a second until he found a familiar silhouette standing above him, casting its shadow on his red eyes. A sigh pushed past his lips, defeated, but sounding like he hadn't a care to give to the world. The figure above him growled with anger seething in his very core. If James was honest with himself, and that might be a rarity these days, he really did not care what the figure wanted from him, or why it was angry. Of course, he knew exactly why and what, but he couldn't bring himself to care, he was too lost.

He scarcely felt or noticed being lifted from his spot, hardly felt or noticed being talked to, and then angrily thrown around like a rag-doll for not responding. Of course, his mind grew confused when it felt numb throbbing all over his body, but it changed nothing. He did not fight back, he deserved nothing better. But he attempted to defend himself to his mind and heart that no one deserved better, knowing he couldn't and wouldn't win against the judging quiet of his unrelenting yet unmoving mind. He was split in two, the second half floating above him in a distance. He knew it was part of him, that it was him, but he didn't feel it. He felt the distance, felt not like it had ever been part of him and wouldn't ever be, yet he yearned for it to be part of him again. Perhaps, his half thought, perhaps a reunion of both halves may finally relieve the split god of it all. Of the hunger he felt shame for and of the deeds he felt guilt for. Perhaps he would be relieved of his torturing thoughts, of the parasite gnawing at his heart. Perhaps, he dared to hope, it might even lift the mountain off his heart. 

A laugh, bitter and cold, danced on his lips, taunting him. It was no use, he knew it too, to hope and dream of the unattainable. His eyes slipped shut and embraced a darkness forced upon him by his head hitting the ground. He wouldn't find the relief he sought, just like he wouldn't find satisfaction for his hunger. He had blocked his own path, quite intentionally, to make it impossible for him to attain this satisfaction or the relief. He hated that he did it, but he knew his half had felt he had had to. He slipped into a pit of darkness, being shown by his mind a horrible array of pictures that made his face flush in shame and hunger, a yearning urge overcoming him and flowing through him like a bolt of lightning.

Despite the dread within his stomach he let the pictures be forced onto him, the sensations that came with them enticing him to give in to something, what he didn't know or chose not to know. He didn't understand what he wanted, it was infuriatingly confounding. He wanted relief, but thought blocking his path to obtain it was the best course of action he could have taken. He wanted his hunger satisfied, but couldn't allow it to be, afraid of the consequences he knew it would have brought with it and forced upon him without him consenting to receiving them. It was a mess. He was a mess. Everything was a mess. Nothing would go well for him, even if things went his way. A hunger newly brought upon him, a flame newly ignited and burning him up from the inside at the very thought of the object of his hunger.

For centuries he had been able to suppress both hunger and flame, had managed to rid himself of the flame for the longest time, and he found it insulting that it had been ignited once more. He had thought it gone. He had thought himself better than that. And now here he was. Proven utterly wrong and mistaken. In truth, he wasn't better, he was not. And he would never be. His better half knew this, but he wasn't aware of that half. His half denied it all. Denied being affected, even though it so clearly was. He was stuck in denial for ever.

He didn't notice that he woke up at some point. It was day. The light looked like it was just so loud, yelling and screaming and his ears began hurting. The light wouldn't become quiet as it screamed into his face. He began to stand up, limbs and body weak as was his mind at that point and he found with a sigh that his mind was no longer fully stuck in the forest of thoughts. There was a dread in his stomach when he remembered his dreams. All were tainted with the same premise, but executed slightly different each time, each time drawing him in against his will so much more, making him lost in his longing and unbearable hunger. He couldn't help but feel his mind was the slightest bit relieved, but he dared not to relish in the feeling, not to become addicted which he knew he was very prone to become, especially to those dreams and fantasies.

He knew because once he had been addicted to those thoughts, those dreams, those fantasies, always the notion in the back of his mind that one day he will be able to become addicted to the real thing. To have the opportunity to commit his fantasies to reality. Foolish youth, he realized now, and he could not be foolish as he had been. He had been too foolish. He didn't allow himself to be foolish once more. And now he was too bitter to notice that he was foolish still. He wouldn't see his actions as foolish until his better half would come back to him, but it refused to do so, for his conscious half-repressed it. He was split and would remain split until his conscious half would realize the mistakes done and make amends. But his half knew that, if it realized, it would change next to nothing. Making amends, at this point and, he convinced himself, even in the future would be impossible. He had made too many mistakes. Had not shown regret for even one of them, despite the guilt he felt right after each one. He did not learn from these mistakes, refused to learn, denied they were mistakes, even though he knew it was so.

A sigh came across his lips, pushed into the world which knew not what to do with it but give it back. He felt the world was too loud, even though he could hear nothing. The light gave him this impression again. He could see everything, and he wasn't too comfortable with that. It was overwhelming, like the screaming of the light. Everything felt crowded, even though the room was mostly empty. It was a new oppression, a new weight upon his eyes and ears than the dark and the silence. This room was bright and the silence was loud, broken and fixed at the same time. Shards of the silence broken the previous night were still stuck in his skin, burning with every movement.

He was tired. His thoughts were melancholy. A pit of darkness in midst of a bright and loud day. He couldn't stand it. He growled at the light and it seemed to just become brighter and louder in spite. He stood up and with a wave of his hand his windows all flew shut, keeping out most of the light, dimming the room to a bearable level. His gaze hit the broken door and he noticed how the doors before that were equally broken. The figure from the previous night must have been horribly furious. A bitter chuckle forced past his lips. A furious fire, he knew.

A curse under his breath brought him from this room into another without aim. He didn't know why his feet carried him here, but they didn't stop in this room. It was almost as though he had no control over them, yet he was vaguely aware of where they were leading him and his stomach filled drop by drop with dread at the vague knowledge. His feet, tired and sore, burning with every step, carried him to a room to which he was sure he had lost the key. Yet when he tried to will his feet to turn and abandon their quest, the key to the room appeared around his neck. He gulped and put a hand over the key. With his fingers he traced the object, felt every line with intricate detail, every bump on the metal, every scratch from its past of being used and- his breath hitched- he felt the scar in the key, fixed now, from when he had broken it in half. He had thrown it away, had broken it. Yet here it was. He felt like he was hallucinating this, like he was still dreaming yet it made no sense.

He ripped the key from the string around his neck and dared to examine it. The cold metal lay freezing in his hand and he could scarcely read the words engraved in it. He didn't dare to read them. He dared even less to think about using the key. His feet urged him onwards. There was an itch in them to move. There was an itch in his brain. He knew the way to scratch it, yet he almost didn't dare to attempt it. Another gulp. Dread and fear were swallowed down into his stomach with it and pearls of sweat began pooling on his forehead, yet even they seemingly didn't dare to begin the race downwards.

He knew, knew it too well, what was behind this door. A reminder. A memory. Many of them, in fact. And he couldn't get rid of them. He had tried, but never had he been able to. The memory, like his mind on the thoughts and fantasies, was stuck. He had not yet been forced to completely relive it, and he wasn't sure if he was ready, wasn't sure if he could ever be ready, to relive it. To face it. He didn't want to, with all his being he didn't want to relive those days. But he knew the itch would not be scratched and he not rid of it until he did. He took in a deep breath in preparation, clutched the key to his chest and with a tight grip on it he led it to the keyhole and slid it inside. He slowly, and with trembling hands, turned the key until the satisfying and foreboding _click_ sounded from it into his ears and the door fell open.

He stepped inside, smelling the air of the room which reminded him of the days he spent inside of it, happily and getting high on the fantasies he indulged his addiction in. Indeed, the memory of this happiness did let him feel the brush with a ghost of it. It had long died, but how he suddenly yearned for the past to be the present! He shook himself. He couldn't let it overwhelm him, not again.

Quietly he went about exploring the room. He knew what he sought, the thing to scratch the itch, was still in this room. He knew it was under the bed, but he decidedly avoided the bed until he explored every bit of the room again, to feel the texture of the closets, the desk, the quill and ink pot whose ink had dried and the half-written letter that lay beside it. A sharp pain shot through his heart and it began beating with aching pounds below the heavy mountain. He remembered the day and he didn't want to. He abandoned the memory and the itch became stronger. He gulped. He went towards the bed with noodle-legs, every step making him feel like he would pass out and faint. But his feet led him to the bed. He went down on his knees and lifted the cover from the bed to reveal a chest underneath. The key to the chest was inside of the keyhole already and he only needed to turn it. That was all he needed to do to relieve the itch, to be rid of it, yet it was so unbearably difficult to do it.

He moved his trembling hand to the key and tightly gripped it. He then slowly turned it around, again hearing the _click_ that made his stomach drop into a cauldron filled to the brim with dread. There was no turning back now. he realized there hadn't been a turning back from this for him since the itch first appeared that day. The chest was now open and he pushed the lid open too to reveal what was inside. His chest tightened at the sight. 

Countless letters that had been addressed to him, but had never actually _been_ sent to him. All of them were love-letters and he remembered the day he had gotten them so damn clearly.

_Thomas gave them to him. It was a day like another and James was sitting in this very room, fantasising and indulging in his addiction when Thomas burst through the door to his room, startling him so hard he jumped to the ceiling and hit his head. Thomas laughed and James glared at him._

_"What the heck, Thomas? What was that for?" he asked and Thomas shoved a big bag at him, puzzling James, "And what is this?"_

_"Letters! Not any letters though. Oh, no, no! These are letters from Alexander!" Thomas beamed and James scowled._

_"So, what? He sent you a bunch of letters? Good for you," James replied, crossing his arms._

_"It gets even better! They're love letters!" Thomas exclaimed happily and James' scowl grew deeper until Thomas added, "But they're not for me!"_

_James perked up at this and his brows were furrowed in intrigue._

_"What? To whom are they then?" he asked and Thomas picked up the bag and spilled the letters inside on top of James who yelped startled._

_"They're to you!" Thomas exclaimed happily and James' eyes widened._

_"What? But- there's so many of them!" James picked a few up and, indeed, they were all addressed to him, each and every one of them._

_"He never actually sent them to you. I tried to convince him, but he always said you couldn't possibly feel the same way!" Thomas explained and James stared at the letters in awe, "Anyway, I'll leave you and the letters alone. Don't tell him I gave you the letters!" But before he could leave James briefly stopped him._

_"Wait! Do you know if he's in his palace? Do you know where he is?" James asked and Thomas nodded._

_"Yeah, he's in his palace. He's planning a prank on the god of autumn but SH! Don't spoil it!" Thomas winked and finally left._

_James stared at the letters in utter disbelief and complete awe and he sighed with a smile. He spent the next few days reading them, there were that many, and on the last day of reading and fantasising he decided to reply. He was only halfway through his reply when a ripple went through their realm and an unbearable pain shot through his chest, crushing him and throwing him to the ground with a yelp and a scream._

James willed himself to stop remembering. He couldn't bear it. The tears he hadn't noticed pricking at his eyes were now falling free and onto the letter, he held in his hand. He hadn't noticed he had picked it up and he put it back into the chest and closed the lid. His breathing was quicker, his heart pounding against his chest and the mountain it was under in so much pain. It was aching, he was aching. He dropped to the ground completely and the tears spilled from his eyes as he clutched at his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I have a regular updating schedule? No  
> Did I have a day off? Yes  
> Is this related? Yes  
> Did I fall in love with Shakespeare ' 'Twelfth Night'? Yes  
> Is this relevant? No  
> Do I care? Also no  
> Do I ship Sebastian and Antonio and think they should have gotten togther? Absolutely yes  
> You cannot look me in the eye and say their relationship was purely platonic, at least not from Antonio's side
> 
> EDIT: IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! ( 4 DECEMBER) EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT DAY!!! I'LL HAVE A CHAPTER UP BY TOMORROW OR WEDNESDAY ON THE OCCASION!!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is a bit later than I promised, but I hadn't had a chance to do it earlier, not even for my birthday, sorry about that! But here it is! The newest chapter. LET THE QUEST BEGIN!

A few days after Washington had ordered the ingredients his carrier was able to bring them to him. The carrier had had a difficult time acquiring the items it seemed, especially the white fire from Thomas' sun who had protested to some of his sun's fire being stolen- it was difficult to create it after all and he would never be in the mood to actually do it. The carrier coughed out some smoke clouds, having just acquired the white fire it seemed and spread out the items before Washington to do with as he pleased. Washington dismissed the imp and turned his attention to Alexander with whom he had been talking to about a god's most recent complaint. He found that Alexander had an odd, yet extremely helpful and somewhat intriguing insight into the lives of other gods. Alexander never outright said it but Washington suspected that this came from the dead god's loneliness and that it was a desperate attempt at being part of other's lives. Washington could only assume because he couldn't read Alexander like he could any other god but it seemed to him that Alexander was a fundamentally lonely person, and it made perfect sense at that. Of course, he would be lonely, considering what had happened to him and how he was treated for three centuries. Washington scowled and mused, regarding the ingredients spread out on his desk with interest and little disbelief, if any, trying to imagine how the ingredients would work together. He cleared his throat, interrupting Alexander's tale of how the god of the sea was not, absolutely not in the right complaining about the god of the stars' most recent silent treatment towards him. It was completely warranted, Alexander had said, because the god of the sea had insulted the god of stars, claiming his job was the easiest and that his own job was the most difficult, and Alexander imitated the way the god of the sea had said that with mocking and over the top inflexions.

"The ingredients have arrived, Wind," Washington informed him and Alexander perked up.

"Oh! Great! Alright, I assume you have a cauldron?" Alexander grinned and Washington nodded.

"Of course I do," he said and Alexander simply shrugged.

"Well, there's no 'of course' about that, apparently. It seems like twenty-seven gods don't have one, actually. Thomas, for example, or James. 'Never needed a cauldron, Alexander. Really, why would I need a cauldron?'," he imitated badly, probably intentionally so.

"Really? Well, that's surprising, to say the least. The cauldron is in the basement, I really only rarely use it," Washington said, called for his carrier and had it carry the ingredients for him down into the basement.

The basement was rarely used, used more for storing even though he really has nothing to store except for some papers and the cauldron. Empty shelves lined the walls and were collecting dust. They were supposed to hold things he didn't always immediately need but they ended up never being used. The papers he barely remembered having ever sent down there were lying on the floor, scattered all about sometimes and other times being stacked in a too neat to be comfortable with pile, standing out like a sore thumb. There was dust collecting and gathering on top of the stacks as well and something about this scene made him uncomfortable. He hadn't been in his basement for a long time and he had not yet been aware of how long it had actually been since he had last seen it. The cauldron was placed smack in the middle of the room, drawing all attention immediately towards it. It was black, dusty and very big. Washington turned to his carrier and made it clean a space beside the cauldron and put down the ingredients there. He then made it dust off the cauldron and then had it stand behind him for further instructions. Alexander was murmuring something Washington couldn't quite catch. Washington made his way to the cauldron and the ingredients.

"We're here, Wind," he said and waited for Alexander's instructions.

"Alright, here's what you do. Take the white fire," Alexander instructed and Washington made the carrier grab the flame, "Put it in the cauldron." The imp carried the flame to the cauldron and dropped it inside. The cauldron was now illuminated from within and Alexander continued with his instructions, "Now you take the black tooth leaves and you rub them between your hands over the cauldron. Seven should be enough." The imp carried out his instructions and grimaced at the smell coming from the black tooth leaves. The leaves dropped into the fire and Washington found the fire was tainted a light green, so light one could barely see it. "Now you put in the rose petals, twelve of them and you let them burn for a minute," the imp followed the instructions as Washington repeated them to it. The flame took on a quiet pink colour as Alexander continued. "Now twenty-seven drops of the water" the imp did so and the flame flared an aggressive blue, loud and bright. "And to finish it off you put in the pegasus feather, top first," when the imp carried out the last instructions the fire turned from its aggressive blue to a radiant violet. The flame flared elegantly and like it was royal until it suddenly, and with a loud boom, expanded into the cauldron, filling it up, and melting into a purple liquid.

Washington was surprised at the display and couldn't quite wrap his head around the melting fire when Alexander instructed him to drink a glass full of the potion. When Washington asked him what to do with the rest Alexander told him to just put it into a jar for later use if he needed, it would expand into any container it was in, making it a technically infinite resource. Alexander explained also that the melting of the fire was caused by the reaction of the magical properties of the other ingredients mixed in one after another and not the properties of their physical compounds. After all, it wouldn't really make sense if the latter was the case instead of the former. Washington, before daring to consume the potion, asked him what the magical properties of the ingredients were and Alexander scoffed at him asking him if he really didn't know about any of this and being surprised when Washington admitted he didn't know. He explained it, he was the god of judgement, not of wisdom, therefore he didn't know all. Alexander hummed at that and explained to him that black tooth leaves and black tooth blooms have very different magical properties, the blooms' magical properties were deadly while the leaves' properties promoted growth and expansion of the mind which was why it had been crucial to use the leaves instead of the blooms which Alexander knew most people, gods included, would have taken first and wouldn't have given the leaves a second glance. Something which would have really resulted in them becoming ill or, in the case of mortals, die a horribly slow and painful death against which nothing could be done to make it stop. The rose petals' magical properties promoted health and he explained that their properties in the potion would help Washington recover more quickly after the parasite has died and gotten rid of by his body. The water, he explained, was tainted by death and would be the thing that actually killed the parasite and it was very important that it was water from the lake that led to the underworld and not something solid, seeing as the water was also the thing that melted the fire once the last ingredient, the pegasus feather, was dropped into it. The pegasus feather, he explained, didn't have to be the feather of Washington's pegasus, or even of the pegasus. Washington was confused at this statement until Alexander elaborated that the pegasus feather had acquired the magical properties of familiarity which would be needed for Washington to become used to not feeling the pain of the parasite in his head anymore. There would be phantom pain, Alexander explained, but it would be much more light than the pain the parasite had actually caused. Washington nodded understanding and dared to drink a glass full, as instructed, of the potion. He didn't feel much, a bit lightheaded after ten minutes perhaps and he remembered how Alexander had told him that it would take ten days for the potion to have had its full effect on him, rather the parasite. He remembered Alexander telling him to endure no stress while the potion did its work and he heeded his advice, going to bed early and having it announced that he would have no one disturb him for twelve days

These twelve days passed easily, having Alexander around proved to be most entertaining and in some cases, most actually, very intriguing. Alexander told Washington of various adventures he'd had over the course of three hundred years and it was very impressive. Washington found himself eagerly listening to the many tales of Alexander's life and many more tales he'd heard told by mortals. Legends of legendary heroes, tales of tricksters much like him and stories of people becoming god-like by achieving impossible things. Each of Alexander's tales, be they tales of his own life or tales from mortals, had something one could learn from it. Alexander sheepishly told him how he had to learn the same lesson a few times over before it would actually set and he would be more cautious regarding it. One of those tales was how he discovered that someone had raped a young teen in the temple dedicated to him and in his blind fury he had not only killed the rapist, but also his entire family which, as he had learned later, had all been priests, except for the rapist, and he had wiped out his main worshippers. Washington winced at that tale, especially when Alexander mused that that might have been the cause of him dying, but he shrugged it off so effortlessly that it made Washington uncomfortable. Washington listened to Alexander's tales whenever he hadn't anything else to do and he had made sure to put at least one hour daily aside to listen to him.

This arrangement continued for quite a while and would continue for quite a while more. In fact, another year passed before the first steps to any change commenced.

In this year Aaron worried himself sick and tired. Alexander wouldn't return home to him and he was so afraid that something might have happened to him. While he worried himself sick he also worked himself to the bone taking care of Alexander's palace. In this year he had memorized every little damn thing he had to do, every damn room in the palace, recognized the faint pattern and memorized it too and reading the books from his library when he had nothing else to do to keep his mind from going insane without Alexander. He was through one-sixteenth of the books in Alexander's library and knew them by heart as well as the palace. He had been in every room, chained or open, knew every plant and animal and collected artefact within the rooms and now he was so sick of it. He was sick of being alone in this damned palace without Alexander. Thomas, on his weekly visits, would assure him each time that Alexander was out there and simply busy getting something and that he saw him and talked to him about it, but Aaron soon got the feeling that Thomas wasn't telling him everything, that he was avoiding telling him something important, yet whenever he asked Thomas would immediately change the subject to something else, often very odd topics. After a full year of this Aaron had had enough. He had decided he couldn't take the wait any longer. He was going to go looking for Alexander himself.

He remembered still how Alexander had told him he would go looking for a flute that hypnotized those who heard it. And he knew that if Alexander had acquired that flute he would have brought it home, seeing as it was such a dangerous instrument. And so it was decided. He knew there was a cloak in the palace that made him unrecognisable and would protect him from any weather to boot. And he knew exactly in which room it was. The door leading to the room was shaped like an inkwell and was located in the north hall. It had blue chains wrapped around it and those, Aaron knew, were the easiest chains to get rid of. He made his way to the north hall, navigating through the winding and twisting and contorting hallways to it until he finally stood in it. Using the wings on his sandals he flew up the inkwell shaped door, he had gotten better and better at flying over the course of this year and knocked thrice on the blue chains. The chains dissolved before his eyes with a bright flash and the door opened on its own welcoming him inside. He entered it quickly and found the cloak in the middle of the otherwise empty room, hung on nothing but still floating in mid-air. He grabbed it and fastened it around his shoulders and threw the hood of the cloak over his head, activating thus the cloak's magic, making him unrecognisable.

He exited the room, not bothering to close it or to put the chains around it again as it was now empty. He left the north hall and navigated through the same hallways to the main hall. He looked around for a moment. He was nervous yet determined. He would leave the one place in which he would be actually safe, a ridiculous notion if one knows about all the things these doors were hiding, and he would venture into a world that wanted him dead or imprisoned. Yet determination welled up inside of him as he thought about Alexander. He knew if Alexander were in his place he wouldn't hesitate to turn over every stone and look into any forest and mountain and sea to find him and maker sure he is safe, and he would do the same for him. Aaron took in a deep breath. No one would be able o recognise him with the cloak and he knew how to defend himself with the tornado staff if someone decided to attack him. And if all that failed he could always flee thanks to his winged feet. With unsure steps, he approached the exit and with a flourish of his trembling hand the doors opened before him and he saw the storm clouds around the palace. He stepped outside of the palace and the doors closed behind him and he gulped. No turning back now, he decided and approached the edge of the platform. He lifted his foot and his wings brought him into the air effortlessly and he moved forward with grace, not letting the storm clouds bother him as well as the tornado once he passed through the storm to it.

Once he was outside of the protection spell an anxiety washed over him, making his movements shaky and unsure. He made his way to the gate that was nearest to Alexander's palace, the one he knew from which they had come on the day when Alexander had brought him into the realm of gods. He glanced around nervously, there was no god around to witness him and yet his mind didn't calm. He pushed onwards and arrived at the gate. Hesitantly, he lifted a hand to move it and, to his surprise, he had the same power to open this gate as he had to open any door in Alexander's palace. He found it quite odd but decided not to dwell on it and move on through the gate which he then did. A bright and dizzying flash blinded him for a moment until he felt ice cold air wash through his lungs and he yelped surprised and startled. It was morning in this realm he realized and blinked his eyes to adjust to the dim light. Whenever he went outside in the realm of gods it was always day, never once night, and he figured he must have gotten used to there not being a dark night and a dim morning and evening in contrast to a bright day. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, heading down as he was very high up in the sky and he wasn't too comfortable being in this place. He didn't mind the height, he just didn't like this realm.

He flew down, seeing a village somewhere below him with foreign architecture. It must have been a different country he was in now, he figured. He flew to a spot outside of the village to make sure he wasn't seen descending from the sky and being mistaken for a god. That would have put too much attention on him. Attention that could kill him if he wasn't careful with it. Since it was early in the morning, though, he knew that no one would have seen him, not even the gods, not even Thomas who was just raising the sun. He walked into the village which was slowly waking up. He waited in the shadows for about an hour until the day was brighter and more people were now out and about. He gulped. He didn't have to interact with simply village people wince he was twelve, and that was now eleven years ago. He wasn't even sure if he spoke their language, but he desperately hoped so.

After the marketplace he was hiding near by filled with people selling their goods and buying things he decided to inquire for some answers about the flute Alexander had told him about. He calmly approached a girl that had just finished buying two apples in trade for two bronze coins.

"Excuse me, Miss?" he asked politely and the woman turned to him with a confused expression, "You don't happen to know my language?"

The girl looked at him funny and with narrowed eyes until she suddenly seemed to realise something and smiled warmly at him. Aaron saw that he had very pronounced green eyes.

"Not good in language, but I try. What want?" she replied and Aaron let out a relieved sigh.

"Do you know, perhaps, of a flute that hypnotizes people?" he asked and the girl looked troubled.

"Slower, please?" she asked and Aaron repeated what he said a bit slower.

"Do you know of a flute that hypnotizes people?" he asked slower this time and the girl took a few seconds to translate what he had said in her head until her eyes widened and she winced back at which Aaron flinched back in surprise.

"I-... Come with me!" she whispered harshly and grabbed Aaron's arm and dragged him into an alley. Aaron gripped the staff of his back tightly for if he had to use it. The girl looked around nervously, making sure they were alone.

"Leave here!" she told Aaron who raised a brow in surprise.

"Why?" he asked.

"King has flute. Makes us... makes us... with flute!" she struggled with her words, but Aaron understood. "When flute hear eyes green and we do what he want. I green eyes so, other green eyes when flute hear!" she tried and Aaron nodded and put the puzzle pieces of what she told him together in his head. The King of the country has the flute and uses it to hypnotize his subjects. When the flute has hypnotized you your eyes become green, but she has green eyes by nature and could thus avoid being hypnotized. Aaron realized then that he was at an advantage. He had green eyes. Not as pronounced as the girl in front of him, but they were indubitably green.

"Where is the King's castle?" he asked slowly, anger building inside of him which he did not show for fear of frightening the girl. The girl's eyes widened nonetheless and she shook her head furiously.

"No, no! No go King!" she exclaimed and Aaron smiled softly at her.

"I will be safe," he assured her and she looked at him with sad eyes, "Can you show me where it is?" The girl slowly nodded her head and took his hand, leading him out of the alley. Aaron decided he would free this kingdom of this tyrant king and then resume his main quest of finding out where Alexander was. Perhaps he would even find Alexander here, but if that weren't the case he was happy helping this kingdom be freed. He was determined to let them know freedom once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One year passed in one chapter. Ha, this is gonna be chapters one through six all over again! XD


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right now this entire fanfic is 112 pages long (Times new roman, font size 13)... that's a lot? That's a lot...

The girl, he did not yet learn her name, led him to an imposing building built into the side of a mountain. The building had a completely different architecture than those Aaron was familiar with. It was tall, towers reaching out to the sky in a desperate manner, and heavily imposing. He felt somehow threatened looking at it and gulped, intimidated. But he didn't let his eyes fall to the ground in submission but stared the towers down defiantly. The girl found this sight endearing or amusing, it seemed because she poorly held back a giggle behind her hand. Aaron smiled at her with intent, reassuring her and in turn receiving a smile that reassured him. He let his gaze slowly and calmly roam his surroundings, studying the behaviours of the people around who all had cold green eyes, without exception. He made his steps forward more pronounced but less sure like he had often seen the servants in his prison do in the presence of a local noble. Pronounced subservience, he liked to call it. It seemed pretentious and almost careless when the servants had done it, but he observed how it was not at all careless and not at all pretentious done here by these hypnotised minds. As he observed the people move around him, he noticed how they were all walking in lines. It took a while for him to notice but these people walked behind each other. Like ants, he thought. A hive-mind. It made enough sense, he concluded, and he easily integrated into one of the lines leading into the castle. None of the hypnotised people paid him any mind (they couldn't, a dark joke came to him) and he noticed how the girl that led him here was three people behind him, making sure he was going the right way and being careful.

The girl wasn't sure whether or not she had understood Aaron's intentions correctly before. She hoped, truly, with all her heart she hoped that his intentions were to help. She had noticed the symbol on the broach that held his cloak together at the front as a symbol of the gods, but she didn't recognize which god he must be serving. A servant of the gods, she could hardly contain a grin, a servant of the _gods_ came to help the kingdom be freed! She could barely contain her excitement! She had never met anyone with any relations to the gods and now there was a servant of them right there! For years the king had had all his subjects under a tight grip with the flute, making them do unspeakable things, and he doing unspeakable things to them. Her own mother was such a victim of the king. She hoped, so desperately hoped that this man with a fluid face would be able to free the kingdom from its slavery to the king and be able to begin a revolution.

She was part of the sleeping resistance, 'sleeping' because they had not yet gotten an actual chance to truly begin it. The resistance was made up of people who had naturally green eyes, seeing as they were not gathered to be hypnotized from birth. Those that were hypnotized and had been given the task to gather all those who weren't hypnotized were only aware of one sign whether a person needed to be gathered or not, and those were the green eyes making them ignore everyone who already had them. The king had not thought his plans through to this extent but he didn't need to as it had yet to present itself as a problem to him, and they were surely not going to bring this to his attention. They were oddly not under constant risk to be found out, as no other person paid any mind to how anyone else acted. They weren't able to since they hadn't been given the order to do so. And they won't be given the order to do so unless the king finds out about the resistance, which they made sure he wouldn't. She was so glad that a servant of the gods now decided to intervene and help. The resistance had prayed to the gods they knew, each and every one of them, but it hadn't worked in the beginning. The gods had abandoned them it had seemed, but not anymore! The gods were on their side after all! They had almost lost hope in the years of despair under the king's rule, but now a sign of hope and joy had come their way! Oh, if the rest of the resistance knew! If they knew she had found a servant of the gods! They'd be absolutely thrilled!

Suddenly, she noticed a man among the people she recognized. It was a spy from the resistance disguised as a low servant. The man noticed her too and gave her a small smile and she motioned her head to the side at him to signal him to talk to her in a private room. She had been in the castle as a spy herself a number of times and she and the man both knew all the rooms that would be vacant under any circumstance, perfect spots to catch up and exchange information and findings between spies. The man followed her to a dim room and closed the door behind himself.

"What did you find?" he asked her with a repressed northern accent.

"Aljo, you won't believe what I found. You saw the man in a cloak, right?" she asked and Aljo nodded.

"He seemed odd, I couldn't make out his face. It was like it was... morphing and transforming constantly..." he said and looked at her expectantly, "Who is he then? It doesn't feel like he's from here, and saying that is just odd, but really, who is he?"

"He, Aljo, is a servant of the gods!" she exclaimed and Aljo gasped and his eyes widened unbelievably large.

"What?! How do you know?! Why is he here? Do you know why he's here?!" he bombarded her with questions and she clasped her hand over his mouth to silence him.

"If you'd let me talk, maybe you'd know," she shushed and he nodded as she let go of his head, "The broach on his cloak is definitely the symbol of the gods, and his face, it's unrecognisable! It is clearly the face of a godly servant, why else would we not be able to make it out? And for a brief second, I saw his feet. They were _winged_! They were _winged_ , Aljo! He is a servant of the gods and you can't convince me otherwise!"

"A servant of the gods," Aljo whispered, amazed, "I must report this to the boss immediately- Wait, does he even want to help us?"

"I think he does. He seemed unhappy when I told him about our situation. At least, he sounded unhappy," the girl explained.

"I'll report this immediately, thank you, Merdi, thank you! You brought upon us a great fortune! I'll be sure to let the boss know all about it!" he exclaimed and hugged Merdi tightly before rushing out of the room. Merdi smiled brightly, soon they would be freed, and she had found their saviour. What an honour!

Aaron was following the line of people while he closely studied his surroundings. He made sure to remember as many details as possible to find his way back and out quickly if he needed to. The structure of the hallways seemed so familiar to him, it was like he knew exactly where the line was headed, and if his hunches were correct then the line was leading directly to the throne room, the exact room he needed to be in. The line was soon approaching a large pair of open doors and once he was inside he was temporarily blinded by the gold that was lying literally everywhere. His brows furrowed as he discreetly wandered to the side of the room, unnoticed by the hypnotized servants around him as he stood near them.

He could see the king on the other side of the room, bathing in his riches and laughing with pure malicious joy. The flute was in his hand in a tight grip and he didn't let go of it once. After a longer look, Aaron noticed how the flute had a chain around it that fastened it to the king's wrist. He wanted to growl in anger, but repressed the noise in his throat. The king calmed down and seemed to relish in the pleasant afterglow of his joy, calmly resting on his throne. He beckoned someone in colourful and eccentric clothing over to him who did so with exaggeratedly mechanic movements at which the king laughed.

"Entertain me, fool!" the king proclaimed, Aaron didn't understand what he said and the fool bowed before the king.

"Tell me, King, what colour is the sky today?" the fool asked him and the king raised his brow.

"It's blue of course, like it always is!" the king shot back.

"No, it's not," the fool replied, "It's green, my king!"

"Are you blind, fool? It's blue!" the king snorted.

"Are you a fool, King? It's green!" the fool replied.

"I'm no fool. Do you want me to throw you out into the streets? It should do well for your head!" the king said.

"Haven't you heard him, people? Throw this fool out into the street! It should do his head well!" the fool exclaimed with exaggerated movements as he pointed at the king.

"Hahaha!" the king's laughter bellowed loudly through the throne room. "Great, fool! Great! You may leave now. Ah, but send Miss Alnojo to me, yes?"

Aaron's eyes furrowed. He wished he could understand their language. It was annoying that he couldn't. He concentrated harshly on the words the king was speaking and muttering to himself. No ko run ques no dno. He could only guess what that meant. He mused over it, attempting to dissect it and perhaps relate some words to his own language. _No_ in his language meant _I_ , but he couldn't be sure that it was the same in this language. He frowned. It seemed so familiar, too. Where had he heard this language before? Suddenly, it hit him. Visiting nobles! Of course! He could hardly believe that he hadn't come to that conclusion before. He had heard it from visiting nobles who had used the foreign language to gossip about him while he was right in front of them, as he had learned later from Alexander, who knew the language. Of course, Alexander knew the language. It would have surprised Aaron if he hadn't known the language. Now he remembered some of the things Alexander had taught him about the language. 'No' did mean 'I', 'my' and 'mine' and 'ko' was 'not', 'never' and 'no'. And he vaguely remembered 'dno' meaning 'lover' or 'affair', one or the other. Something about him not something something his affair or lover. Great translation, Aaron quietly sighed to himself.

A woman came inside, dressed provocatively and more for decoration than for covering up skin. Aaron suddenly became uncomfortable as he watched the scene unfold before him. The king beckoned her over to him with a hungry smirk, eyes filled with lust and a shiver ran down Aaron's spine. This scene forced upon him too familiar images that he long sought to repress into the deepest parts of his mind, unreachable. The woman's movements were not real as the king ordered her to him. Neither was the act that followed. She played along with the scene the king had in mind for her and him, but without passion. It didn't feel like she was forced to do it, she hadn't the mind to be forced, rather she just _did_. Like a passionless actress following the orders of the director. A passionless act, a dull story and no chemistry between the actors. Everything about this scene was just simply _wrong_. But Aaron had to stand there and do nothing. He'd wait until the moment in which he could take action. It wasn't now, that was for sure. If he did something now, even though the king had his guard down low, he ran the risk of being hypnotised himself and then he'd be unable to help the kingdom. As much as he hated letting the scene before him play out, he had no other choice.

The scene was over quickly enough and the woman was sent to the king's quarters afterwards. Aaron wanted to breathe out a sigh of relief at the completion of the scene but he couldn't find it in him to do so. There was only little relief he felt, uncomfortable as he was during all of this, the atmosphere in the throne room didn't change. He dared a quiet look around and noticed that some servants lining the wall were tense and pressed themselves against the wall. It was such a small difference from the rest of the servants that he barely noticed at first, but they were clearly tense. Could it be? Aaron thought, Could it be that they were one of those that had naturally green eyes and hadn't been hypnotized? He hummed quietly, intrigued. They likely were. And they were likely also aware of the consequences should they have acted. Like Aaron had been. Aaron decided to wait longer. The king hadn't noticed him, funnily enough. Aaron felt like he must be sticking out like a sore thumb. Perhaps his cloak helped. He fiddled with some of the fabric and played with it nervously, the wait just dragging and dragging on. The king repeatedly called the fool to him and made him entertain him and Aaron caught a few words he recognized and slowly tried to translate the things the fool said in his head. He found he could recognize more and more words and could find the meaning of some other words he didn't understand from context clues. At some point, he gathered that the man was making fun of the king. Finally, Aaron concluded that the man was a fool and things made a little more sense. A few hours passed, his feet grew tired, and the fool was doing tricks, failing intentionally a few times to cause the king to laugh or succeeding at some times, amazing the king who laughed delighted. The sun was slowly setting, it was probably late autumn for the sun to be setting this early, Aaron mused. The king yawned and stretched on his throne and at some point, when the sun had finally completely set, he got up and began walking out of the throne room. Aaron made to follow, floating just above the ground to make sure he wouldn't be heard following the king. The servants in the room who hadn't been hypnotized gasped and flinched back but Aaron was out of the door behind the king before he could have heard.

Aaron followed the king quietly as he calmly walked hallway through hallway, a maze but one Aaron could easily recognize the pattern to, until he reached a pair of extravagant doors and dramatically opened them with a flourish. The doors hit the walls behind them with a loud bang and Aaron quickly hurried inside before the king could think about closing the door again. The room was dim and Aaron hid in a dark corner of the room, watching the king closely. The king didn't notice Aaron crouching in the corner and crawled onto the bed beside a figure that already lay there. The woman from before, Aaron recognized. The shape below the thin silk cover was the same as he had seen writhing on the king's lap. The flute was still very much attached to the king's wrist and Aaron decided he still had to wait.

Soon, the king was dozing off and snoring into one of the many pillows adorning the bed. His wrist lay right beside the back of his head and another hour into his wait, Aaron decided it was time to try. With a gulp and a decisive nod, Aaron began flying slightly above the ground and towards the bed, careful not to make a noise. He floated over the king's sleeping body, glaring and sneering at him with disgust. The flute was in the same position on his wrist as before and he gently made to grab it, carefully placing his fingers around the flute. He just made to pull away with the flute when the king's eyes shot open and he screeched. He screamed and yelled and ordered whoever was near to come to his aide. In a spurt of panic Aaron, with a tight grip on the flute, ripped himself away from the king who let out a pained scream as the doors fell open, revealing servants instead of guards. A ripple went through the kingdom from the flute as the power it held over the subjects was ripped from the king. Aaron looked at the flute in his hand, wincing when he saw the skin of a wrist and a hand attached to the chain, dripping blood. The king was clutching his bloody and skinless hand to his chest and screeched at the servants to kill Aaron.

The servants had wide eyes and didn't respond. The woman beside the king screamed in absolute agony and attacked the king beside her in a blind fury. The king, confused and in great pain, screamed at her and at the servants who wouldn't move from their spot. The woman grabbed a vase from the nightstand and smashed it over the king's head, the shards flying everywhere. She grabbed a particularly large one and jammed it into the king's throat who let out a gurgled scream and thrashed a few times before he lay limp and lifeless on the bloody bed. The woman was breathing heavily and screamed once more when she saw Aaron holding the flute. The servants gasped when they looked at Aaron, noticing first the flute in his hand, then the bloody skin attached to it, and then how he was floating above the ground. Aaron shook his head, not saying anything. He floated to the woman, who flinched back and he gently took her wrist and took the shard out of it, letting it drop to the ground with a small clatter. From a small pouch under his cloak, he pulled out a small, yellow plant and rubbed it onto the small gash on her palm. A small glow was emitted from it and the wound was gone, leaving only a faint scar as proof that there had been a wound before. The woman gasped at this and Aaron tried, as best as he could because he remembered this phrase well, to speak to her in her language.

" _I'm sorry_ ," he said, " _That you had to endure this. I will keep this and bring it far away_ "

It seemed what he wanted to say came across well enough because the woman desperately and furiously nodded with a small smile, a glad and relieved smile.

" _It's over?_ " she asked and Aaron nodded.

" _It's over,_ " he assured her. The woman beamed and threw her arms around Aaron and cried into his shoulder, mumbling things into his shoulder that Aaron assumed meant 'thank you'.

He later learned, through a lot of trial and error, that this woman was the mother of the girl that had led Aaron to the castle in the first place. Alnojo was her name, he learned and Merdi, her daughter thanked him a thousand times and promised she would teach him her language and have him given a high title in the castle, the latter he politely declined. He didn't need a title, having his name anywhere was dangerous. Merdi kept her promise and taught him her language, which took seven months for him to learn until he was fluent in it. She told him early on that her language was one that nobles all over the continent spoke, it was rather popular, and that he would be at a great advantage if he left for another country, which Aaron told her he would eventually do. Alnojo was chosen to be their new Queen, making Merdi a princess.

One day after he had learned her language Merdi told him about a rumour.

There were other such instruments as the flute out there. And a kingdom not too far away from this one was plagued by their queen and her drum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I just got my biology exam behind me today and I'll have to study for my history exam later this week. AND I have to get shit done on the paper I have to do for English (it's about the changing attitude of American's toward Immigration/Immigrants if you were wondering and I'm dying because I've no idea how to do shit:/). My schedule is just going to be full for a while, but I'll see how I can cram in time for this fanfic, because I genuinely enjoy writing for you guys and this is basically my free time activity. I've got so much stuff I want to share with you! Ugh! I just want to spoil it all to you but no! You'll have to wait for the next chapters! Okay, just a heads up, the next chapters will be Aaron's MANY adventures with some Thomas action/Hercules action/Washington and Alexander action sprinkled in here and there ( a big focus on Aaron and Alexander's development and how everyone else is reacting to it, yay!)


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I maganed to make a LONG chapter today!!

Intrigued by the rumour Aaron heard from Merdi he decided he would investigate. He gathered directions to the next kingdom and a few silver coins, their currency, should he need it or want anything. Merdi also provided him with supplies for the trip and asked him if he ever intended to return, being their saviour and all. He knew he wouldn't, he had to look for Alexander and it was only the last bit of his conscience constantly negotiating with him that he had decided to investigate the rumour and help the people if it was true. He wouldn't return, he told her, or rather he couldn't. She still believed he was a servant of the gods, and while she was disappointed she understood he must have his duties. She asked him, the day he wanted to leave for the other kingdom, if she may look upon his face as a god would and not be obscured by his godly power. Aaron didn't understand what she meant but declined, knowing that if word somehow got to the gods he would be in intense trouble, and he was absolutely not in the mood for that. She was again disappointed but didn't show it for fear of offending this servant of the gods. He left soon after for the kingdom to the north. It was a quick travel, his winged feet propelling him forward with intense speeds and he soon recognized a rather bright city with almost abstract architecture in all colours imaginable. It kind of hurt his eyes looking at it and he soon descended to the outskirts of the city, hiding among the bright alleys. He made sure to pull his hood farther over his head as he exited the alley into the streets. They were rather empty. Only women, children, and old men were out and about, no man his age in sight and his brows furrowed. He decidedly roamed the streets, listening in on conversations that he could barely understand due to their dialects. The women were avoiding each other's eyes and only the children were really talking to each other, wondering were their fathers, uncles or big brothers had disappeared to.

Aaron perked up at that information and approached a pair of sisters, one older and one younger one and asked them about it.

"Excuse me, Miss? I couldn't help but hear you two converse about the absence of most male figures in this city. I am a traveller from a far-away land, and I am curious about this as well. Do you perhaps have some idea of what has occurred here?" he asked most politely and the girl, who had made her sister stand behind her, smiled at him politely and nodded her head.

"Everyone except the children knows. Ask someone who hasn't a child with them. The children mustn't know, sir," she answered and Aaron nodded with a raised brow.

"Thank you, Miss," he said.

"You're most welcome, sir," she answered and left with her sister who looked up at him curiously and waved with a smile which Aaron returned making the small girl laugh. He turned around and looked for someone who hadn't a child with them as instructed by the girl. This turned out to be a bit more difficult than he had anticipated. The first seven streets he walked along were fruitlessly searched for anyone walking by their lonesome without a child. It was almost odd that just about everyone had a child at their hand.

But on the eighth street, he finally found someone. It was a boy, looking like he was about seventeen years old, frantically looking around, paranoid. Whoever he passed he was regarded with pitying looks and frowns. Children pointed at him asking their sisters and mothers why he had no sibling he took care of. Aaron approached the boy who, as soon as he locked eyes with Aaron, stiffened and flinched back immediately with absolute fear and horror frozen into his eyes permanently. Aaron approached him with such calm, however, that the boy somehow didn't feel the intense need to run away and hide like he had so many times before.

"Excuse me for my sudden approach, but I couldn't help but notice, curious as I am, how you are the only one I have seen thus far who hasn't a child with them. Also one of the few men here it seems, and the only young one," Aaron said with a calming and soft tone and smile, hoping to calm the boy down who gulped and shook his head.

"I-I'm no man yet, s-sir, um... Wh-who are you? You-you don't sound like you're fro-from here, si-sir," the boy replied, making himself smaller. The boy wondered why this man was talking to him, who he was, and why he couldn't make out his features. The boy found the other's voice odd, somehow comforting. A voice he would tell everything to, a voice that somehow made him feel like things were going to be just fine like he was going to be okay. Safe. It made him feel safe with him. For once in many months he felt safe.

"I'm merely a traveller, but I heard about some things from this kingdom and I became curious. I'm even more curious now that I'm here. I have yet to see a man who isn't old in this here city. You are the first who came close to it. Do you know why this is?" Aaron asked and the boy nodded, cheeks attaining a slight red.

"Th-the..." he tried, his voice failing him and he looked around nervously, "P-perhaps we should speak somewhere quiet..."

Aaron nodded and followed the boy to wherever he led. The boy led him to the outskirts of the city, the part of the city that looked more like a simple town. It didn't look like a too wealthy part of the city to him. The boy led him to a house that looked like it was abandoned and opened a cellar door just beside it, motioning for him to get inside first and closing the door after himself when he was inside as well. He struck a match and lit a candle he procured from somewhere and Aaron could see the room they were in a little better. It looked old and rotten, paint peeling from the walls, insects like ants and cockroaches running around and a nest of birds sitting in the top corner of the room. There was an open box filled with candles and another box filled with potatoes with a knife sitting on top of them. There was a makeshift bed on the floor with a thin blanket over it and no pillow. A pair of chairs, clearly used for many years, sat in the corner and the boy retrieved them and put one in front of Aaron who took it and sat down on it. The boy sat down on the other chair in front of him.

"I-I'm Sequu, by the way... What may I call you, sir?" Sequu asked shyly and Aaron smiled at him.

"If you swear not to tell anyone you may call me Aaron," Aaron replied in a soft tone and Sequu nodded furiously, his slight blush becoming ever so slightly darker as he felt Aaron's name on his tongue and felt Aaron's curious gaze on him. "So, what do you know of this curious situation the kingdom seems to be in?"

"The... the Queen of our country has... it sounds unbelievable, but it is true! She has a drum and those who hear it are moved to war. She has used it to conquer kingdom after kingdom, and she always rounds up all the men from age 18 to 75 to fight for her. These men have no choice but to fight when they hear the sound of her drum... you must believe me!" Sequu pleaded and Aaron nodded.

"Don't worry, I do. I came from a kingdom whose king had his subjects under his complete control with a flute. He's dead now," Aaron explained and Sequu lit up at this information.

"Really? How did he die?" he asked curiously and Aaron chuckled.

"A traveller arrived and no one noticed how he wasn't under the spell and he stole the flute from the king. He was killed by one of his subjects whom he had taken to his bed. I heard of the drum in this kingdom, but I wasn't sure what exactly it did. Is there a chance you could lead me to the place the Queen resides in currently? I don't want to burden you with it, I'm sure I could find it on own my own, but your aide would be most welcome," Aaron said and Sequu frowned for a bit, regarding the floor with a thoughtful expression, but in the end, he nodded.

"I'll bring you to her palace... She will be in this kingdom for the next two months, if you can do anything, you should hurry," Sequu said quietly and Aaron nodded.

"Don't worry, I will. Please lead the way," he said and stood up, letting Sequu lead the way.

Sequu kept very close to Aaron the entire time, which Aaron wasn't sure how to feel about. The boy was cute, reminding Aaron of a cat or a dog, the thought made him smile and he held back a giggle at it as he concentrated on his task. Sequu led him to a house and told him to wait outside. Aaron waited and regarded the city once more. He couldn't say he liked the colours chosen, they were so mismatched, the colour scheme made no sense and it irritated him. Blues with greens and reds with purples then yellows with pinks. He frowned. It hurt his eyes. Sequu came out of the house again and told Aaron that he had just paid for a carriage to pick them up and bring them near the palace.

"Is the palace that far away?" Aaron asked and Sequu nodded.

"Rather far away. We're not the capital, after all, we're at the outskirts of the kingdom," Sequu explained, "It will be a two-days travel by carriage. I hope you don't mind having to share one with me, it's all I could afford."

"Don't worry, and I'll pay you back for your efforts. Let's go then," he said and the carriage to pick them up came up from around the corner and they swiftly stepped inside giving the horseman the signal to move.

The next two days nothing of note occurred. The ride was smooth and the nights were mild on them. Aaron had brought a book from the palace and devoured it during the night, as he didn't trust the horseman, an old and mischievous fellow with a certain look in his eyes that made Aaron growl and make sure Sequu was never closer to the man than he was, in order to protect him should the need arise. The horseman clearly felt Aaron's untrusting glare and felt the power he wielded. He didn't dare even look at Aaron for the whole trip and make no trouble. He somehow felt that Aaron wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he attempted anything, and so he didn't.

Two days passed and they arrived near the palace. Aaron paid the horseman despite Sequu's protests and together they moved towards the back of the palace to find a different way inside than the front, which would be just asking for trouble. Trouble hey couldn't afford to have. They found a door quickly and Aaron pushed it open carefully, looking around to see if there was anyone who could find them not belonging there. They made their way inside, finding every hallway empty. Aaron found this very strange and Sequu paled in fear behind him, dreading what they would find out. He took hold of Aaron's hand and led him to the courtyard through some odd and winding hallways, as though he knew exactly where they were and whereto which hallway led. Aaron became suspicious of what else Sequu knew.

Arriving at the court they found themselves in a mass of people, all women, screaming and pointing to the middle of the courtyard where there stood a platform and an executioner with an axe. Behind the platform, on a balcony, sat the Queen of the kingdom and Sequu flinched behind Aaron who looked at him briefly, then at the Queen and her cold gaze to the platform below her. Suddenly, doors just below the balcony opened and a man, looking to be the same age as the Queen, was dragged out by female guards. The women in the crowd were screaming at him and booing, calling him a traitor and a pig and many other curses Aaron wasn't taught by Merdi. The man fell to the ground after a guard pulled on the leash around his neck too hard and the crowd just went wild with screaming and cursing. The man was dragged up to stand on his feet again and dragged onto the platform. Only now could Aaron really see the man and he really wished he couldn't. The man was incredibly thin, his bones clearly visible through his skin. His hair was thinning out as well and his eyes were dull and frozen, looking but not focusing on any face in the crowd until it hit Aaron. He focused on Aaron and opened his mouth slightly, but closed it again and frowned. There were scars all over his body and Aaron recognized the scars as those resulting from being whipped and otherwise tortured. He gulped, this was an execution. As soon as the man was placed onto the platform the Queen made a motion with her hand and the crowd was silenced, Aaron could see the drum at her side.

"Theres Olliva, you have committed treason against your country. Your actions cannot and will not be excused. Therefore I sentence you hereby to death!" she proclaimed and the crowd cheered. Theres stared up at her defiantly.

"You may kill me. You may kill many more like me to come. But no matter how many you place under the blade of the executioner, you will never be above us! You're not my Queen, you're not our Queen. You are cruel and cold, killing whoever disagrees with you! You aren't fit to rule us!" he yelled and the executioner grabbed him by the thinning hair and pulled him to the middle of the platform and threw him to the ground. The executioner lifted his axe and struck the man with it, not managing to cut through his neck in one swing and killing him. The executioner lifted his axe again and struck down again, this time being successful. He grabbed the severed head by the hair and held it up, blood dripping onto the platform and onto his feet and the crowd of women cheered while the Queen looked annoyed but pleased.

Aaron gulped and wanted to take a step back, remembering that Sequu was still behind him and turning around to hold him.

"I hope you didn't look when it happened," he said and Sequu shook his head.

"I've seen it before," he said and that made Aaron's blood boil.

"Okay, that's it," he said and took Sequu's hand and exited the courtyard into some hallway, "You will hide and in three hours you will come back to the courtyard. I will go to the Queen and I will kill her." Sequu's eyes widened in absolute horror at this and he shook his head furiously.

"You can't do that! She has trained guards with her at all times! You won't be able to come close enough to her to do anything before she has you captured! You saw what happens to those who commit treason! I don't want you to die!" Sequu insisted and Aaron smiled but shook his head.

"I won't let her kill me, she won't get the chance to. In three hours we'll meet in the courtyard, and I'll have her head and crown for you," he said and let go of Sequu and hurried down the hallway. Sequu wanted to protest more, but a group of women came around the corner and he quickly hid in a cabinet, waiting for them to pass.

Aaron was quick to find the room to the balcony, but there was no one inside. Of course, he figured, she would be somewhere else. Likely in the throne room if the palace had one or in her chambers if there weren't one. He made to find the room where she must be in and it didn't take long for him to come across it. The Queen was in the throne room which also had a balcony, on which she stood on. She was sitting on an expensive chair facing a crowd that was gathered outside consisting only of men. The drum sat in her lap, almost innocently and she held the drumsticks tightly in her hands. There were no guards in sight and Aaron floated slightly above ground so as to not have the woman notice him. He was only halfway across the room when her guards came rushing in and surrounded him, pointing spears and swords at him. The Queen turned around and smiled at him.

"I take it you are the one who saved the neighbouring kingdom from its King with his flute?" she asked but Aaron said nothing. For everyone in the room, he had an air of mischievous mystery around him, making each guard uncomfortable. "And now you've come to steal my drum from me? Forgive me for laughing but I do not believe for a second the rumours I was told of you. A servant of the gods! Ha! Don't make me laugh! You're nothing but a sham. You're not a servant of the gods, are you?"

Aaron considered her words carefully, then decided he would shake his head. It was true, he wasn't a servant of the gods and he didn't want to be associated with them at all and it was a bit scary to him that he was regarded as such by people, he had to be more careful than that.

"I knew it! There is no such thing as a servant of the gods, especially not one walking our realm! Almost a shame, though, now I'll have to have you killed. You won't play hero for anyone anymore. And that when there are two more instruments with a similar power to mine! You could've at least 'saved' those kingdoms if you had simply chosen to skip me. But now you will die," she said and motioned for her guards to kill Aaron. They moved quickly closer to him to strike him down, but Aaron gripper the tornado staff tightly and swung it around himself, creating a surge of wind that pushed every guard to the walls of the room. The Queen flinched back and stared at him with wide eyes and at the staff he was holding, recognizing it as an artefact of the gods.

"You-you stole from the gods?!" she exclaimed, "But no one has ever survived stealing from the gods! H-how are you still alive?!" she screamed at him and a guard beside her dared to open his mouth.

"Maybe he IS a servant of the gods!" the guard said and cowered in front of Aaron who ignored him and lifted his staff pointing at the drums. he was silently giving the Queen the opportunity to hand it over without a fight, even though he knew he would kill her in the end.

"NO! I will not give you this drum! Have you any idea what I went through to get it?! Without it, I'll be nigh powerless!" she yelled at him but Aaron persistently pointed at the drum and the Queen growled at him.

Suddenly, the doors to the throne room slammed open again and two more guards, each holding one arm of Sequu came rushing inside, stopping in their tracks when they saw Aaron. Aaron turned around and flinched and the Queen grinned as she saw this.

"Ah, so you've grown attached to a mortal, I see. Well, spirit, because I refuse to believe you are anything more, I shall make you a deal! I will freely hand over the boy and you shall leave me alone for all time to come. If you attempt to take my drum from me, I will have him killed!" the Queen proclaimed and Sequu's eyes widened. Aaron was quiet, unmoving. The tension in the room thickened by every passing second. Sweat rolled down the Queen's nervous forehead as she waited for Aaron to answer her. Then, after a minute of silence, he nodded. The Queen grinned triumphantly and motioned for the guards to let go of the boy who then ran to Aaron and apologized profusely for having been caught. Aaron smiled at him and patted his head, then turned around to the grinning Queen and gave her a grin of his own, lifting the hood just enough for her to see his grin unobscured by the magic of the cloak. The Queen looked at him oddly, her grin dropping and Aaron handed Sequu a blue glowing orb and as soon as Sequu touched it he was engulfed in the blue light. Then Aaron approached the Queen who took a careful step back and her guards came closer again. He reached out his left hand as if for her to shake and, assuming it was to ultimately seal their deal, she took his hand and shook it.

Suddenly, Aaron pulled her to the ground, took out his staff again and with the sharp bottom of the staff he stabbed her once, twice, thrice, seventeen times. The guards were too shocked to do anything and the only noises the Queen could make as she was brutally stabbed time and time again were gurgled screams as her hands desperately attempted to claw at Aaron's arms when he stabbed her. Soon, she lay below him limp and lifeless, never to cause the death of another ever again. Aaron calmly, too calmly for what he had just done, stood up and approached the chair on the balcony, on which lay still the drum and the drumsticks. He picked them up gently, storing his staff on his back again, and strapped it to himself. then he approached the Queen's dead body, picked the crown from her head and handed it to Sequu, placing it onto his head. Sequu was speechless, he didn't know what to say, he didn't know hat he just witnessed. The guards were unsure of what to do, they knew they couldn't simply kill this spirit. They stood there awkwardly until Aaron regarded them with a look and one guard decided to bow to Sequu, the other guards following suite, as well as the army under the balcony, accepting this boy as their new ruler. Aaron knew that his job here was done and he didn't need to do anything else here, but then he remembered how the Queen had said that there were two more instruments like hers. He hugged Sequu once more as a goodbye and fly out of the palace to the west, deciding to ask around in the capitol if anyone had heard of these kingdoms. And indeed, he soon found a lady telling him of the two other kingdoms, which were directly next to each other, in the east. The one closest to this kingdom was the one whose king kept a harem loyal to him with a koto that makes anyone fall in love with the one that plays it. The kingdom next to it had a Queen playing her bell lyre to anyone that felt unhappy, and it would make them happy. Aaron thanked her for her information and first made his way home to store the drum together with the flute in the same room before he made his way to the next kingdom.

There he arrived just before the sun was setting in the capital of the kingdom. He made is way around, looking for anyone who looked like they had useful information when he was suddenly approached by a young woman dressed in provocative attire.

"May I interest you in my services?" she asked. Aaron shook his head no and she seemed almost disappointed. "Oh, are you perchance interested in someone more masculine?"

When she asked this Aaron frowned and raised a brow. A prostitute? he wondered. She took his silence for a yes and pulled him along to a street off to the side. It didn't look too shady and the young woman led him to what was clearly a brothel. It looked like an expensive one and Aaron hoped that the prostitutes inside were treated better than how he knew the 'cheap' ones were treated. He didn't protest as he knew that a brothel was full of two things, prostitutes and information. The girl told him to wait and she disappeared behind a door. Another girl came out of the door and regarded Aaron with an odd look.

"You don't look like you've been recently satisfied. Here to escape your life?" she asked, Aaron, shook his head. "Not much of a talker, I see. You don't look like you want to be here for the service either, am I right?" Aaron nodded and the girl raised a brow. "Then whatcha here for?"

"I am looking for information. This girl whisked me off the street and I know that brothels are the best place to gather information, not even second to a gossiping well. I would pay for the information you could give me too, I know your time could otherwise be better spent than on someone who isn't planning on being a customer," Aaron explained and the girl nodded.

"I'll tell her that," she turned around and yelled into the door, "OI, BENNIE! YA DON'T NEED TO BRING ANYONE DOWN FOR HIM I GOT IT COVERED!" and a voice yelled back "OKAY!"

"Such grace," Aaron smiled and the girl snorted at him.

"You do what you gotta do. Come on then, sailor, let's get a room to talk," she said and took his hand, leading him to a room through the door Bennie had disappeared into before. She motioned for him to sit down in the chair while she prepared a drink for them, setting it down before Aaron who gladly took it. "So, what is it you want to know, sailor?" she asked and he nodded, taking a quick sip of the drink.

"The King," he began and the girl flinched back and interrupted him.

"Oh, I got no manners, do I? Call me Ansue. Now what in the everloving fuck do you want business with the King?" she asked.

"I heard no good things about him. He supposedly has a harem he acquired quite forcefully-" he was interrupted again.

" _Forceful_ ain't no WAY to describe how he got them!" she exclaimed angrily, "He came to brothels all over the city, played this bloody koto and men and women, all sisters and brothers to us, the music forced them into his service! It was insane! That damn koto!" she was nigh in tears, her anger and grief almost taking over. Aaron placed a sympathetic hand over hers and squeezed.

"What do you know about his koto?" he asked and she glared at the cup in her hands.

"It's magic or something. Anyone who hears it falls in love with whoever plays it. There is no other thing like it. And the King? Arrogant bastard he is. Says that people fall in love with him cause he can play the thing so well, no! The thing is magic!" she growled and an idea sparked in Aaron's head.

"Do you know a shop where I can get a koto?" he asked and she looked at him oddly.

"What for? Wait, you don't plan on doing something stupid, do you!" she looked at in disbelief and Aaron shook his head.

"I'll do nothing stupid. I'll merely... try to help," he said and Ansue looked at him oddly for a second and then nodded.

"We have a few spare koto's, each of us has to master it before we may work here. I can teach you, for a price of course," she said with a grin and Aaron smiled at her.

"Thank you for your help," he said and put a small brown bag, filled to the brim with gold coins, in front of her, "Would this suffice?"

She looked at the bag and opened it, looking at the gold inside with complete amazement and nodding slowly with wide eyes.

"Let's get you started then!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this is gonna be the last chapter for this year I think. The main reasons are pretty personal, having to do with school, the holidays and family. I have to concentrate on my research paper, the upcoming exams, and worry about my grandfather who recently had a stroke (he's alive, still, but we don't know if he'll quite recover but we doubt it). Sadly we won't be able to visit him (he lives in england while my family and I live in germany) but at least if he dies I know he had a full life (no idea how happy it was but it was a long life). Anyway, hope this announcement wasn't too much of a downer after this chapter? And I hope you'll still be excited for the next chapters to come! Next chapter will be the next instruments to gather and then onto a different character before the next adventures hit! ;)


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, okay, the previous chapter WASN'T the last one for this year, but I was bored out of my mind and had literally nothing better to do! I mean, you don't exactly suffer from it, sooooooo...... Enjoy?

Aaron was a quick learner, he has always been, and the urgency of the situation moved his fingers to determination to become nigh perfect. A year later and Ansue was more than happy with his progress, even though he had always expressly refused to shed his cloak for the practice and she had become annoyed with him very often. Aaron mused over this year of daily, hourly practise and thought it funny that he would only need this skill for a single evening. Even so, he liked the music a koto produced and thought it a valuable skill to have for himself, even if he never _had_ to use these skills again for a dire situation, he liked having it for the now and here. He adored the sound of it, he must confess, and he thought that even the singing paradise flowers couldn't come close. Then again, perhaps he could somehow make his own koto out of the paradise flowers? Alexander had made a lyre out of them once, so why should a koto be impossible? He smiled as he practised with Ansue one last time.

"Amazing, Aaron, amazing how you've done learned so much in one short year! Colour me mad impressed, boy!" Ansue praised after he finished his performance in front of her and Bennie. He had befriended some of the prostitutes there and it seemed like they liked well enough, they kept him around willingly, that meant a lot. Bennie applauded him.

"I suppose we could call you a master of the koto now! You're ready, Aaron, oh am I ever proud! Our lessons sure paid off, didn't they, Ansue?" she beamed at Ansue who smiled fondly at her. Bennie was a beam of sunshine dropped onto earth, nothing could ever put a black spot on her mood, and that was very impressive, especially to Aaron, whose mood could change like the tides, every six or so hours, even Ansue liked to joke that.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a boy, looking panicked, came running to them and hid behind Ansue with terrified, blown wide open eyes. He yelled something at them in his panic, but he was from another kingdom and spoke another language. Aaron's language, so he was the only one who understood.

"The King! Ansue, Bennie, the King is here! He wants to take more people into his Harem!" the boy, Aaron thought he remembered his name being Ujnos, yelled and Aaron's eyes widened as he translated to Ansue and Bennie, who stared at the boy in fear and disbelief, then suddenly Ansue sprang into action giving instructions, which Aaron translated for the boy.

"Bennie, ring the alarm! Ujnos, tell everyone to hide! Aaron, you hide too. I'll talk to the guy," she said and Bennie and Ujnos nodded but Aaron stared at her with incredulous eyes. Bennie and Ujnos ran out of the room and soon after a loud, deep bell could be heard ringing through the entire brothel.

"You can't be serious, Ansue, you know well enough what he's gonna do!" Aaron reasoned and Ansue nodded.

"Which is exactly why I'm doing this. I'd rather it'll be me than any of my girls or boys. I don't think I could go on with the thought that they would be forced into... this..." Ansue explained and, reluctantly, Aaron nodded.

"Alright, fine. You do that. See you later," he said and Ansue laughed.

"I know with whatever plan you have you'll be able to get us all outta this mess. Am I wrong now, Aaron?" she asked and Aaron shook his head, "Well, I hope I ain't! See ya, Sailor."

And with that she left the room and Aaron went into hiding in the space in which Ansue had told him countless times before to hide should this exact situation rise up.  
Meanwhile, Ansue had made her way to the main room where she found the king, with only a few guards, sitting and waiting to be received. He had his koto sitting on his lap and Ansue bit down any snide remarks and suppressed the dread she felt rising up into her throat like bile. The King finally noticed her and looked her up and down.

"You're the one they sent to appease me?" he quirked a brow and Ansue was almost offended.

"Terribly sorry, my King, but all my girls and boys are out today, not a soul besides myself was left behind here. It's a rare occurrence, but it happens every once in a while," she said with a bow that came close to being an insult, as little as she bowed. The King scoffed.

"Well, I suppose you'd make for an interesting addition to my wifes, wouldn't you think?" he smirked and Ansue frowned.

"No, I don't think that. Really, haven't you enough wifes 'n husbands? How many more do ya need, ya greedy sod?" she asked with a scoff of her own and she saw one of the guards give her a pitying frown, dreading what she knew was clearly about to happen.

"Oh, I'll need more once the last one becomes... too familiar. Too used, I would say. After all, wouldn't a child throw a toy away once it's used too much?" the King snickered and disgust welled up inside of Ansue at the implication.

"Have you ever _met_ a child? No child would throw their toys away no matter how used, don't you know anything? And you call yourself a _King_ ," she said, knowing full well what she was getting into. The King smirked.

"I like you, you got some bite in you. But I think something of mine will convince you otherwise, my dear," he said and Ansue scoffed.

"I know what you'll do. You'll play that magic koto, thinking that your 'skill' is the key opening peoples' hearts. You ain't got no idea that it's the koto and not you, but you arrogant ass won't believe otherwise!" she accused and the King scoffed this time but didn't reply with words. Instead, his fingers danced over the strings of the koto, and intricate dance practised yet a thousand times, yet it seemed like it was his fingers' first dance, as it looked very clumsy how his fingers moved over the strings, and his plucks on them were too violent, yet the sounds produced were still perfect, even though they very much should not be. The music produced enveloped Ansue, swallowed her whole, grabbed her by her hands and led her into a black abyss, completely engulfed in the inky black washing over her consciousness and only an intense longing was left of her that was instilled into her heart. A love, an undying, unconditional love for her King, and she would be allowed into his harem. A happy smile fell upon her lips, erasing any sign of a frown as her senses became fuzzy and something else she couldn't quite grasp, yet wanted, no, _needed_ to grasp was placed so closely into her mind. She couldn't grasp it, she couldn't reach it, even though she felt a deep need to grasp it, to hold it and- she didn't know what else.

The King looked her up and down, pleased with himself.

"No one can resist my music. All this talent simply can't be ignored!" he proclaimed proudly and motioned for the guards to get Ansue, who at this point looked at the King with such adoration as though she were a lovestruck fool, yet she was reaped from the brothel like wheat ripe for harvesting, treated like an object.

After the King left the brothel became alive again, yet struck with grief, it didn't feel alive. Not one bit. Even Aaron felt the sour mood lying in the air, threatening to suffocate them all. He grew uncomfortable by it and he went looking for Bennie, who must be the one most distraught by this event. He went looking for her, looking into her room and finding no one. then he went up to the highest room of the brothel, where they keep the alarm bell in and he quickly found her sitting in the corner, not crying, but simply staring at the wall. She wouldn't be able to cry, Aaron knew that, but he had never before seen her like this. Bennie was sunshine personified, he was sure even Thomas, or especially Thomas, would agree with him on this matter and he couldn't stand for it that she looked so depressed. He sat down next to her and put an arm around her.

"It will be alright," he whispered. Bennie shook her head violently.

"It won't," she said.

"How are you so sure?" he asked and held her closer.

"How are _you_ so sure?!" she yelled back, ripping herself from Aaron who simply sighed.

"Well, because the King could not have chosen a better time to take her. I now have the ability to act out my plan. I'll have her back in here, perhaps even ruling, before..." he gave it a quick thought, "Before overmorrow. I promise."

Bennie looked at him with terrified and angry eyes.

"How do you know your plan won't fail!" she yelled and Aaron shrugged.

"If plan A fails, plan B comes into effect," he simply said and Bennie grew frustrated.

"What if that fails?! Do you have a plan C?! Or a plan D?! What if all those plans fail?!" she yelled and Aaron smiled at her.

"Then I'll have plans E through Z to work with. And with 26 plans in advance it's rather unlikely that I'll fail, Bennie, you're worrying too much about someone like me," he smiled and Bennie scoffed.

"Said the rich guy to the prostitute," she mumbled.

"I'm not that rich, you know that," he said and Bennie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you blew it all on koto lessons. What for, even?" she asked, huffing.

"For plan A," Aaron simply said and also stood up. He was shorter than Bennie, it was really noticeable.

"'Plan A' took you a whole year to prepare, why not just start with plan B?" she asked.

"Simple: because plan B only comes into effect if plan A fails!" Aaron explained with a grin and Bennie looked at him oddly for a second then burst out into laughter.

"Only you would create plans that take a whole year to prepare for!" she laughed and Aaron joined for a quick laughter.

"I suppose so. Say, you wouldn't point me in the direction of the palace, would you?" he asked and Bennie gave it a thought before hesitantly nodding.

"I suppose I could," she replied and Aaron smiled at her.

"Great! Show the way then!" he grinned and Bennie rolled her eyes.

"Eccentric fool," she smiled and motioned for him to follow.

They came through the room in which Aaron had left the koto, which he then took and carried, he would need it. Bennie led him out of the brothel and into the direction in which the palace stood. The walk was long and it took them about two and a half hours to come close to it, the rest Bennie couldn't guide him, she had never been further than they stood and Aaron understood and went on without her, going over his plan in his head multiple times.

Meanwhile, Thomas was nervously walking through the streets of gold of their realm. His head filled to the brim and running over with liquid worry. He hadn't seen Aaron in such a long time! He hadn't been granted entry into the palace of winds by him for years! He worried so much, he couldn't even find him anywhere in the mortal realm. He was sure that Aaron somehow found out about his lies, he was too obvious, and now Aaron must hate him! He was absolutely sure of it, Aaron must hate him now! He didn't notice where he was going and he ran into Hercules.

"Ouch! Oh, hey, Thomas! Um... What's wrong?" he asked and Thomas looked at him incredulously.

"Hercules? H-have you seen Aaron?" he asked him and Hercules shook his head.

"Nah, but isn't he in Alexander's palace? I mean, you visit him weekly, so you would know, wouldn't y- wait, lemme guess. He isn't in the palace?" Hercules asked.

"I don't know! He didn't open a hole in the tornado for me, so I first assumed he was in the mortals' realm, but I looked and looked for him, and he isn't there! The last time I saw him was over a year ago! Wait, come to think of it the last time I saw _you_ was over a year ago! What is it with everyone disappearing on me for over a year?" Thomas whined.

"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down! Maybe Aaron is just somewhere down there, in a place you can't see into? Maybe a city has a similar spell on it like his palace did? Anything is possible at this point. Maybe he's having some adventures? Who knows, really? Don't worry too much. If he wants to talk, he'll come to you," Hercules comforted him, but it didn't work to soother his nerves.

"It's just so frustrating!" Thomas whined.

"Hey, don't be like that! It's his life, let him do with it what he wants. Heck, he's probably looking for Alexander, so no big deal, right?" Hercules said and Thomas flinched. Right, Alexander. Thomas wondered for a second how Alexander was at the moment before Hercules pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Anyway, I must be going. I have this itch in my head and that means there's a person requiring my assistance for poetry!" he waved Thomas good-bye and disappeared before his eyes, leaving Thomas confused and even more nervous than he was before. Then he thought and wondered again. How was Alexander?

Alexander, well, Alexander wasn't fairing too well. While Washington trusted his advice by now and relied on him more often than not, it wasn't a happy existence. He was forever stuck in this prison. The realisation of that had hit him sometime the previous year. He hadn't fully realized it in the beginning, but now? He sighed and leaned against the glass. It was uncomfortable. It was small. He could swear it had become smaller in the last year and, what, six months? Seven months? he realized he was already starting to lose count and he didn't like the thought. he wanted to know exactly how long he's already been in this blasted prison. He just hoped that Thomas told Aaron. Aaron had to know. Aaron was the only person Alexander needed to know. Aaron had to stay in the palace, remain immortal until Washington deemed him punished enough, which Alexander knew would take quite a while, considering what he did.

Only know did Alexander fully realize the perverse cruelty behind his imprisonment. He had had nothing left, nothing really going for him. He had nothing to lose anymore, well, almost nothing it seemed. He had still had his freedom. And then, suddenly, he had had Aaron, and then Thomas and then Hercules! He had been getting his friends back, had planned out a wonderful life with Aaron in his palace, had planned to take him on small adventures, make him immortal in history so that he would never be forgotten. He had planned it all out. When Aaron died, which had been a thing they had both eventually agreed on needed to happen, Alexander, at that point alive again, would befriend Lafayette again and then visit often in the realm of the dead, and make sure that Lafayette and Aaron become friends. And he would have laughed with Aaron at the irony that he was now alive and Aaron was now dead. He planned it all out, down to the smallest detail and... now? Nothing of that would be happening anytime soon. Alexander, once again, really had nothing. And now? Not even his freedom. What does one take from he who lost it all? You took away his friends, whom he cherished, you took away his happiness, which he could live without, you took away his hopes, which he had carried with him openly and foolishly so, and you took into your hands all he had ever dreamed of having after you took away all that, and you crushed it between your fingers, so cruelly, so horribly that it shook him and destroyed him. What then, do you take next? You took so much from him, all things he knew he had, what else is there to take? Of course, the thing that makes him live and work and function. The thing that made him survive. You take away his freedom, the last thing, the absolute last thing that had been undeniably his, used to its fullest and enjoyed to its most extreme point, and you took it. You took it and ripped it away from him. He couldn't help but feel bitter towards Washington the rest of the week, confusing Washington greatly who had long become dependant on his advice. At the end of the week, Washington confronted Alexander.

"Wind, why did you refuse to speak to me of the matters I presented to you? I could have used your help a lot, you know," Washington spoke calmly to the small black vial and Alexander grumbled but didn't reply, "I know you can hear me perfectly well, Wind."

"Would it _kill_ you to say my name?!" Alexander shot back, taking Washington by surprise.

"You know I can't do tha-"

"Because I'm dead, blah blah blah, I am very much aware of my not aliveness! Doesn't mean you should just treat me like- like- like _this_. I'm not alive! But I'm not. Dead! I refuse to believe that I'm honestly dead! If I were dead, I'd be _gone_ ," Alexander hissed bitterly, angering Washington.

"What makes you think you are in any position to speak to me like this?" Washington sternly replied and Alexander scoffed.

"What are you gonna do? Lock me up in an inescapable prison? Oh, wait!" Alexander yelled, "I guess ya already did!"

"Wind, I'm warning you-"

"I know more than you could ever hope to know. I've been through more than you could ever bear. I've had the weight of every realm on my shoulders once and held them up! Seriously, what are you gonna threaten me with? What, kill Hercules? Go ahead, kill a _muse_. Or what, are you gonna kill Aaron? That won't bother me or him, we kinda expected his death anyway! Or what? Will you finish off _me_? Oh, please do! I'm sick and tired of being not quite dead but not quite alive! I will die anyway at some point! Why drag it out?" Alexander hissed.

"Wind-"

"Don't talk to me. I'll probably apologize later, but I'm in no mood to talk right now," Alexander became quiet. Sullen. Washington didn't know how to respond. Alexander had just been downright disrespectful to him, in the purest sense of the word, and he felt like he shouldn't punish him further for it? It seemed paradox, but he heeded what his head told him and he heeded what Alexander told him. He left him alone. Of course, Washington thought, of course, Alexander must be bitter. It should honestly surprise him that such an outburst hadn't occurred much earlier than this. He sighed but left Alexander alone. Alexander would have not much of a choice in conversational partners and would eventually speak with him again and in a friendlier, more respectful tone. But something in Washington told him that he didn't want Alexander to have that friendly, respectful tone with him. It didn't suit the dead god, to begin with.

Aaron arrived at the King's palace and took in a deep breath before he attracted the attention of the guards to let him in. The guards at the front gate regarded him with odd looks, likely being confused by the cloak obscuring his features. One of them even got uncomfortably close to him to examine his features. Aaron could feel his breath on his face and grimaced.

"What is it you want?" the guard finally asked him and Aaron made a quick bow.

"I'm here because I heard the King was an excellent player of the koto and I would love to hear him play myself," he explained with a smile in his voice and the guard noticed the koto on his back.

"And what's with that instrument on yer back?" the guard asked with a raised brow pointing at the koto and Aaron followed his finger and looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, this! I was hoping I could perhaps also play for the King and perhaps ask for his opinion on it as well as on my instrument," Aaron explained and the guard shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright, I'll bring ya to 'im. Don't hope too much though. The King loves to hear no one play more than himself," the guard said as he led Aaron into the palace and then through some hallways meant for servants and guards mainly.

"Of course, I never hope too much. Pleasantly surprises one if things happen the way you like them," Aaron smiled and the guard laughed and agreed with him. Soon they stood before a pair of doors and the guard told him to wait as he went inside first to inform the King.

"My King," the guard said, "There is a man who wishes to hear you play and in turn play for you, would you see him?"

The King, surrounded by his harem, looked at the guard with a raised brow.

"Does he know the effects I have on those who hear me play?" he asked and the guard nodded, "Send him in then."

Aaron walked through the doors as soon as they were opened for him and did so with such grace in his steps that it surprised the King. He bowed deeply and most respectfully before him with a flourish of arms and hands. The King smiled and thought about having this man in his harem, perhaps even willingly so if the man was actually interested as the guard had implied.

"Now, I hear you think yourself worthy to play before me," the King started, "Do you not know how my talent at the koto has made people fall for me in seconds?"

"Oh, I heard it all! And a wondrous tale it is! It made me curious and I would hope that my playing might still entertain you, your majesty," Aaron smiled, letting his voice drop an octave on purpose.

"Well, I shall see about that then, won't I? I say, if your performance comes close to mine, I will play for you in return, which, mind you, is a great honour. If you don't... you shall be punished for your arrogance," the King threatened with a smiled, "So, begin."

"Of course, my King!" Aaron replied with a last bow, sat down and placed the koto on his lap. He took in a small breath, ignoring how he saw so many men and women under the King's spell and he especially ignored Ansue. He placed his fingers over the koto and began to play slowly. It was a slow melody that he chose, a slow song, almost melancholy. The King didn't seem impressed on the outside, even though he was brimming with it on the inside at Aaron's skill.

Aaron's fingers elegantly danced over the strings, plucking at them like he was plucking a porcelain flower, fragile, yet with purpose. His elegance and grace of posture translated beautifully into the dancing of his fingers and the melody he was playing. He decided then to truly begin with his plan.

He made a strong movement with his head, making the hood of the cloak fall off his head, revealing him unobscured to the King, who sucked in a sharp breath when he saw Aaron's face. The most beautiful thing he had ever seen and his heart swell up with a sudden lust and desire to hold this man, to make him his, to make him happy. Such a love was boiling within him. Then Aaron began to sing.

_Bugs and Berries, Birds and trees_  
Oh, they live in harmony  
Diamond Mountain, crystal sea  
How beautiful can my home be  
Silver snow and golden sun  
If away, to home I'll run  
If away, to home I'll run  
Em'rald grass, sapphire sky  
Happiness that makes me cry  
Pearly clouds, so white and soft  
Birds singing so high above  
My true home, where my heart is from  
Call for me and quick I'll come  
Call for me and quick I'll come 

The King was absolutely breathless throughout Aaron's entire performance. He was lost in this stranger's face, especially his eyes were absolutely captivating, holding worlds within them, secrets of the universe, of life, of love. He was sure, absolutely sure, he had to have this man. He was struck with sudden realisation. He was absolutely in love. Head over heels and six feet deep in love with this stranger that came to him and even asked, though behind veils, to be with him, part of his harem. If the King could have this man, he would release each member of his harem. He wouldn't need them anymore with this man (willingly!) at his side. A lovestruck sigh escaped him.

But the performance was over almost as soon as it started and when Aaron was done he put on the hood of his cloak again, obscuring his features and bursting the King's small bubble. The King blinked, surprised.

"How did you do that?" the King asked.

"I practised a lot," Aaron replied simply, his voice filled with the sweetest smile and it made the King's heart flutter.

"No, not that. That couldn't have possibly been you. Oh, I see!" the King suddenly proclaimed, "You have yourself there a magic koto!"

"Magic, your majesty?" Aaron asked innocently.

"Goodness, and you didn't even know! I can't have you play with a koto like that in public, you'll entrance everyone walking by!" the King exclaimed. Secretly the King wanted to make the man trade his koto for the King's. He thought that if he were to combine his natural talent and the magic of the stranger's koto he would be able to make the entire kingdom love him! he had to have that koto.

"Oh dear, I had no clue! What would you suggest, your majesty?" Aaron feigned ignorance internally snickering to himself.

"Well... I suppose I could suggest to you a trade! My koto isn't magical in the slightest. You take it and I take yours, and I'll keep it in safe hands, don't you worry!" the King suggested with a smile and Aaron made to look unsure.

"I'm not sure, your koto looks so much more expensive, your majesty! Are you sure you would trade that for mine?" Aaron asked and the King nodded his head violently.

"Of course! I insist even! Such a dangerous tool, my friend, I wouldn't feel comfortable with it, were I you!" the King insisted and Aaron made to nod reluctantly.

"If you insist so much your majesty. Let us trade then!" Aaron stood up from the ground and carried his koto to the King, who held out his own, which he kept close to himself at all times, and they traded. Aaron could feel how the koto was now his, its magic rippling through him more pronounced than the previous instruments had. He stepped backwards slowly, looking at the King happily trying out the new koto, which sounded horrible in his unskilled hands. The King looked at the koto confused and the at Aaron, who simply grinned from the other side of the room. The first strum of the koto had done enough to break the spell on the entire harem surrounding the king. A harem of 46 people, now that Aaron had had time to count them all. Ansue was the one closest to the King.

Ansue ripped the koto from the King's hands who let out a confused yelp. Ansue then hit over the King's head with the heavy instrument making him fall to the ground with a groan. The guards did nothing as then the entire harem at once threw themselves onto the King, ripping and tearing at him in their anger and soon blood and gore went flying through the throne room, never once hitting Aaron who was at the far end of it as he watched them with a grin. Third one down, he thought. Now to the last one.

And he left the palace with the King's magic koto and thought to himself, what an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alexander is bitter! Who'da thunk?  
> Aaron doesn't mind seeing blood and gore and someone being ripped to shreds and killed! (I mean he did kill someone on his own soo....)  
> Thomas is a nervous wreck!  
> Hercules found Aaron!  
> Wait what?  
> ...  
> Alexander is bitter!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER IS FUCKING LONG!!! I THINK IT'S THE LONGEST CHAPTER YET! FUCKING HELL IT'S LONG!
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER? BUT IT'S A BIT OF A SPOILER FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED ON WHAT IS LITERALLY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER THE TRIGGER WARNING IS NOW! TW: (IMMORTAL) CHARACTER THINKING ABOUT COMMITTING SUICIDE (HE'S IMMORTAL THOUGH SO THAT WON'T HAPPEN ANYTIME SOON), MENTION OF SELFHARM AND ACTUAL SELFHARM BUT NOT IN THE WAY YOU'D EXPECT. TRIGGER WARNING DONE:
> 
> I JUST REALISED I WAS WRITING THIS WITH CAPSLOCK TURNED ON FUCK: ANYWAY ENJOY!!!

James sat in the moon, sullen and in a very bad mood. This was nothing new. In the past three years, he had been miserable and refused to interact with anyone. He couldn't even begrudgingly rely on Thomas to check up on him every once in a while, Thomas hated him now. But James was aware that Thomas hated himself much more than he did him, and the thought almost made him worried, were it not for his complete and utter apathy towards anything and everything at this time. Nothing mattered to him anymore, nothing had any meaning anymore. If he could have, he was sure, he'd have killed himself by now. He'd have flung himself out of the moon and crashed into the realm below, perhaps drowning in an ocean of water rather than drowning in his own misery. His appearance reflected his inner state like a mirror. He was a mess, his hair a rats nest, his clothing, while once it had been pristine and kept exceptionally well, it was full of holes and dirt and dust and it sagged off his shoulders much like the bags under his red eyes. His skin was paler than before, red on the arms from the nights he would clutch at them through a nightmare. There was dirt not only on his clothing but on the rest of his body as well. He had made it a sort of game to keep himself occupied to fling himself from the moon into the other realm and crash into the ground. It hurt, always hurt, but it was the only time he ever felt _right_. He deserved the burning pain along his face, along his arms, his legs, his chest and back. Punishment for his mistakes he did consciously. He would often fling himself into the ground of the realm below and just lie there for days on end, unmoving, hardly even breathing as he cursed his own immortality. He would just lie there in the dirt, in pain and just... do nothing. For days on end.

Slowly, he rose from the floor. He stood up, and contemplated whether today was such a day or not; it always depended on how miserable he felt, to which there were actually levels. He didn't always feel miserable enough to fling himself from the moon. He then decided that, yup, today is such a day. With a sigh and a shiver down his spine, almost dreading the pain that was to come, he stepped to the exit of the moon and opened it with a lazy and mechanical movement of his hand. He looked down. It was miles upon miles down and he knew he would have time to catch himself on the light of his moon, but he knew that he wouldn't dare to do that. The temptation would be there, he would have the ability to stop, but then he almost laughed at the absurdity. No, he didn't. He didn't have the ability to stop; not the will to stop; not the care to stop. It took him one step, one measly little step, and he was falling. Again.

An hour prior to this, Aaron just exited the King's palace with the magic koto in hands as he noticed a familiar figure behind him. He looked at him and tried to put the face with a name, confused as to why he felt this face was so familiar. Then it hit him. Hercules! Goodness, he hadn't seen him in so long! Wait, it struck him, what was Hercules doing here? Hercules then noticed Aaron looking at him and he flinched back, looking nervous. Aaron remembered he had his cloak on and Hercules wouldn't recognize him, so he waved and waved him over, at which Hercules' confusion grew and his eyes widened and his brows furrowed, but he slowly approached Aaron.

"You can see me?" Hercules asked and Aaron laughed, at which Hercules grew even more confused and somewhat irritated until suddenly realisation hit him and he recognized whom the laughter belonged to. "Aaron?!" Hercules cried out and Aaron nodded with a massive grin, "B-but, how?! How could I not recognize you? Wait, how can you see me? I made myself invisible to the mortal eye!"

"Oh, I found this cloak that makes me unrecognisable to anyone. I should assume that it also helps to spot muses," Aaron giggled at Hercules' dumbfounded expression, "But I wonder how you didn't recognise me or my presence sooner. We were both in the palace, correct?"

"Yeah, I was because someone needed my hel- wait, right, that was you! Huh, I should really make it a habit to be in the same room as the person whom I'm helping," Hercules laughed and shook his head and Aaron grinned.

"Perhaps you should. So you were the one who planted that song into my head?" Aaron asked, remembering how the song he'd sung had just rolled off his tongue as easily and fluidly as water.

"Well, no, not really. It was already there somehow, I only had to bring it forth," Hercules answered and Aaron hummed.

"Huh, well would you look at that. I wonder where the song came from then?" Aaron asked.

"No idea, but I was so sure I knew it from somewhere. Maybe I heard Peggy sing something like that? No, I'm sure I didn't... It's at the tip of my tongue but I can't put a finger on it!" Hercules groaned annoyed and Aaron patted his back.

"It's not important, don't worry yourself now. So, are you headed anywhere now?" Aaron asked and Hercules shook his head.

"It's a rather dry time for me. Scarcely anyone wants to create poetry! I was actually kinda keeping an eye out for you, funnily enough... Thomas is kinda worried about you because you weren't at the palace apparently. Maybe you should go back and talk to him once?" Hercules explained but Aaron shook his head with a sudden frown.

"No, I... I don't think I can trust him right now," Aaron said and Hercules cocked his head to the side.

"What, why?" he asked curiously and Aaron sighed and looked to the side.

"I just have this weird feeling that... You know, about Alexander, that Thomas knows something about where he is and won't tell me! When he came to visit me every week he would tell me that Alexander told him things to tell me, but the things he told me did not sound like anything Alexander would say, ever! Telling me not to worry about him, and Alexander would never tell me that unless there was something going on that would cause me to worry if I knew! And then Thomas would tell me that Alexander is in this kingdom or another, exploring, and I know for a fact that Alexander was in those kingdoms at least a hundred times each! There is nothing he could _explore_ that he hasn't already! Thomas is lying to me, and I need to find Alexander and find out why," Aaron grumbled, annoyed, irritated and worried, feeling betrayed. Hercules frowned but nodded.

"I haven't seen or heard of Alexander either, and that really shouldn't be. I know him, I know him well enough to know that something is wrong. I don't know if Thomas is really hiding something, but I also wouldn't know why. If I find out about anything regarding that I will immediately come and tell you. Just... we need a way of communicating. I have a feeling you will travel and not be in the same spot for long?" Hercules looked unsure, almost shy and Aaron nodded.

"Do you know a way we could?" he asked and Hercules hummed in thought.

"How about we choose a spot in this realm to meet in about every month?" Hercules suggested and Aaron nodded, liking the idea.

"Do you have any particular place in mind?" he asked and Hercules nodded.

"Yeah, I do. Do you know 'Crumbling Hill'?" he asked and Aaron tried to remember a place with that name, coming up blank.

"Can't say I do, but it sounds like a good place, care to lead me there?" he asked and Hercules nodded.

"Yeah! Just... Oh, it's a long way from here and I can only teleport there alone... Shoot, what do we do now?"

"I can just fly us there," Aaron said nonchalantly until he remembered that Hercules didn't know about how Alexander had sewn wings to his sandals.

"What? Fly? You? How?" Hercules asked even more confused and Aaron snorted.

"Alexander sewed wings to my sandals, not a big deal, just point me in the direction," Aaron explained shortly and Hercules raised a brow but pointed to the east, the direction where Aaron wanted to go anyway.

"Are you strong enough to carry someone?" Hercules then asked and Aaron shook his head.

"I'm barely strong enough to keep carrying this koto. Wait here, I'll just bring it back home and then we can go to the hill, yeah?" he suggested and Hercules nodded and watched amazed as Aaron then took flight and flew upwards. He was even more amazed as he watched - later realizing that Aaron shouldn't know how to do that - how Aaron knew how to enter the realm of the gods. Very soon after, Aaron returned and he and Hercules, with Hercules teleporting, travelled eastwards and soon arrived at a very high hill that was bare of any plant-life and made of pure rock.

"This is 'Crumbling Hill'?" Aaron asked, "Fitting name."

"It's very old and it used to be the place where we muses hung out until suddenly everything here died. It was weird, but we just moved on to another place without questioning it," Hercules explained and Aaron nodded.

"So, we'll meet here once a month, yeah? I mean, unless I decide to come back home. But I'll leave a message here if I do that for the time, yeah?" he said and Hercules agreed and nodded and Aaron smiled brightly. "Alright! See ya in a month then! I still have stuff to do."

"Alright, see you next month!" Hercules said with a grin and disappeared and Aaron started on his way to the last kingdom he'd have to travel to.

He took flight and began travelling to the last kingdom he would have to visit before he could properly begin his search for Alexander. The Queen of this kingdom, so he learned, was in possession of a bell lyre. Aaron wasn't entirely sure on what the bell lyre really did once you heard it being played. All he had been able to gather about it was that it made people happy once they hear it and that was really it. He wasn't sure if there was really more to it, or if that really was all it did and could do. He wasn't very familiar with the nature of these instruments yet, assuming that each instrument could only ever do one thing, but he wasn't sure if that was truly the case. Really, he couldn't be sure unless he tried to play them, but he didn't dare to do that, he didn't want to have to experiment on some innocent stranger. In the distance then, he could see a city blooming from the ground and reaching upwards into the sky. The closer he came to the city the more he could make out from above where he flew. The buildings were tall, tightly sewn together in a spiral twirling and in the middle of it all stood a humble, yet beautiful palace. Every fifth building, he counted, was a temple, cutting the spiral of tall buildings into districts. The buildings were all the same colour, except for the temple for each district, which all had their own colour, assorted to shine like a rainbow when viewed from above. He could slowly but surely make out the symbols that were on top of the temples, signifying which god or goddess was worshipped there. The palace also had such a symbol on it, the one for the goddess of fertility. A smiled hushed onto Aaron's lips, this Queen must be very adhering to the traditions for the gods. Good for the gods, he supposed, they'll at least have this kingdom worshipping if all others stop.

Cruelly, he entertained the thought of burning down the temples, making it impossible to worship the gods and they would soon be forgotten in this city. And if he were to continue this all over the world, the gods would be all dead. The thought amused him, then he halted. Maybe not all gods, he thought, at least spare Thomas. Hercules, as a muse, apparently didn't have to worry about worshippers and would be fine if Aaron committed his fantasy to reality, but Aaron decided not to, of course. It would be stupid. Burning down the temple of a god or goddess would instantly put a bid, red target on his back and would be just begging for the gods to kill him, not something he wanted, at least not until he found Alexander and confronted him about his sudden disappearance. Probably not afterwards either, though, seeing as he would then be busy making sure that Alexander is worshipped again. Reflecting on it, he would have so much to do once he found Alexander. This cloak he had found would enable him to do what he had planned much earlier than he had thought he would be able to! 

Aaron landed carefully just at the outskirts of the city, taking in the view from below, which was entirely underwhelming considering the amazement he had felt about the view from above, it was certainly a perk of having winged feet. He wandered for a bit, but the streets were almost empty, only a few men and women, mostly prostitutes and drunkards, were out and about. Aaron kept to himself as he wandered the dark streets. He followed the road, knowing that he would eventually arrive at the palace thanks to the layout of the city. It was an odd choice, but he somehow liked it. From this angle, all the tall building, and they were very tall, seemed almost imposing on him and he soon found himself wanting to get away from the buildings as soon as possible. He had counted about fifty-five temples which mean that there were a total of 275 of these tall buildings which didn't sound like much, but considering their height and width a lot of people would be able to live in one.

He wandered and wandered and, eventually, he passed all fifty-five temples and soon stood before the palace's gates. He simply utilized his winged feet to fly over the gates and into the palace via a window which was illuminated. As he stepped inside and his feet touched upon the floor he found that he was, thankfully, alone in this room. It was likely the room of a servant, Aaron concluded when he saw a bed, a closet and a desk with a chair and writing utensils in the room. He carefully and quietly hushed out of the room into the hallway outside which was also illuminated. Suddenly, he heard a sound and felt it ripple through him melodiously and he stilled immediately in his movements. It was the sound of a bell lyre. His eyes widened as he felt a tingling sensation all over his body, it was pleasant. His eyes fell shut and a stupid smile gently forced itself onto his lips as his head rocked from the left to the right to the rhythm of the melody coming from somewhere in the palace. Then, for a second, he couldn't hear it anymore and he snapped out of the trance he had been caught in, his eyes snapping open and the smile on his lips contorting into a scowl. He heard footsteps coming closer to him and, in a bit of a panic, he dashed into the opposite direction. He tried, in his head, to replicate the sound he'd heard to try and figure out where it had come from. Wherever it had come from the bell lyre must be there and thus the Queen from whom he would have to take it. Frustrated with himself he couldn't remember from which the sound had originally come and he begrudgingly began looking for the throne room, thinking that that room would be the most likely place where the bell lyre and the Queen were located. 

The palace was big and it took him some time to wrap his head around the structure of it, its hallways winding and twisting in a perfect imitation of the spiral structure of the city. Eventually, he found the big pair of doors he was looking for, all the same being intrigued by the humble decorations and portraits lining the walls of the halls, and even the door was humbly made, just of strong wood with few steel patterns on it, but it still looked like no one would be able to break through it alone without the means to. While he had the means to he decided not to and simply knocked onto the wood, alerting the Queen who was sitting inside, comfortably conversing with a servant to his presence. The Queen, confused, ordered for the door to be opened, revealing Aaron to her.

She looked him up and down as the guards took a stance ready to defend their Queen if necessary. The Queen was intrigued to find that she couldn't make out the face of this stranger. His face was blurry and fluid, morphing from one shape into another and blurring the lines between mouth and nose or nose and eyes and eyebrows and cheeks and chin and forehead, it was all melting into one and were distinctly separate at the same time, she couldn't comprehend it. Her eyes travelled to the stranger's collar, where she could see a broach holding the stranger's cloak together and with a gasp she recognized the symbol on it while noting a subtle difference in it. It was the symbol commonly associated with the gods, and it was highly forbidden to wear it if you weren't a high priest or otherwise in association with the gods, and she knew it was forbidden for the priests to wear cloaks within a building which has a god or goddess as its patron, and her palace was one of those buildings. She concluded thus that this stranger with the melting face must be someone belonging to the gods, if not a god himself. Thus she decided to be most hospitable.

"Good evening to you, sir," she spoke with a smile, "May I ask what brings you here?"

Aaron was surprised at this friendly greeting but decided to speak. He first stepped into the throne room properly, the guards keeping their eyes trained on him suspiciously before he spoke up.

"Your majesty, I travelled here in order to complete a small quest," he began and the Queen hung onto every word of his, analysing them carefully, "You see, I have visited three kingdoms before yours, each one with a ruler in possession of a dangerous artefact. The first kingdom I travelled to was plagued by a king who used a flute to hypnotize his subjects into doing whatever he wanted completely against their will. When I collected the flute and broke the spell, the woman he had forced into his bed with it killed him and she was given the throne by the people who celebrated this man's death," he said and the Queen gasped with wide eyes, the servants in the room sharing her surprise and disgust at the story and her gaze urged him to go on. "The second kingdom I travelled to was ruled by a Queen who used a drum to force her people to go to war, she had conquered three kingdoms this way and she was cruel, executing each person, having them tortured before, that spoke up against her cruelty. I confronted her and it came to a fight. She is dead now. A boy who was spared to go to war because of his age was given the throne for helping in freeing the kingdom from this woman's cruelty," at this, the Queen put a hand over her mouth in shock and her servants looked disturbed. "The third kingdom I visited was ruled by a king, an arrogant king who used a koto to make people fall in love with him. He created a harem, forced them into his bed with him, and he was arrogant enough to believe the did so willingly, believing he was so skilled at the instrument that it made them fall for him. When he stupidly fell for a trick and traded his magic koto for a regular one the spell was broken. A woman grabbed the regular koto from his hands and hit him over the head with it and the harem then proceeded to kill him, desperate to be free from him and have revenge for what he did to them. I have now those instruments and have hidden them where no one shall find them again and abuse their power."

The Queen hung to his every word with quiet gasps and shocked, wide blown open eyes and whimpers at the stories. She shook her head countless times, not wanting to believe what Aaron told her, it was too cruel for her to comprehend. When Aaron reached the end of his story a cold shiver ran down her spine as she wondered why he was in her kingdom then but didn't dare to ask it. She looked at the servant next to her, her name Isma, her closest and dearest friend. Isma knew exactly what was on her Queen's mind and asked for her.

"What then brings you here, sir?" Isma asked with a most respectful tone, having noticed everything her Queen had noticed about this stranger and having come to the same conclusion. Aaron pointed to the bell lyre sitting ever so innocently next to the Queen.

"Unfortunately, your majesty, the bell lyre you own is one, the last, of the cursed instruments," he said and the entire room gasped and looked at the bell lyre and at Aaron in utter disbelief and shock.

"B-but, how? I haven't noticed a thing changing when I play it for anyone! In fact, everyone is very happy whenever I play it!" the Queen said, confused, trying desperately to understand what this stranger told her.

"That is what it does, your majesty. You might have noticed that I told you how the other instruments do different things to those that hear them. The flute makes them obey your every whim, the drum moves them to war, the koto makes them fall in love, and I suspect that your bell lyre forces people into a state of happiness that makes them vulnerable. I shall not accuse you of anything malicious, your majesty, from what I've seen you weren't using it maliciously, but I assume you shall turn this instrument into an heirloom for your children. And down the line, one might find out about its properties and abuse its power for the worse. I'd like to prevent that from happening, your majesty. I don't necessarily want to see another one dead because of one of these cursed instruments," he explained and the Queen considered his words for a long, silent moment, terrified and horribly confused. She wanted to argue that it wouldn't do anyone harm no matter into whose hands it fell, but then scenarios flooded her head of cruel rulers annihilating a revolution by playing the bell lyre and leaving the people vulnerable to be attacked by their soldiers and subsequently killed, and oh, so much more! Scenario after scenario made her more and more terrified of the bell lyre innocently sitting beside her.

The people in the room looked at her with pitying eyes, yet also with expectant and terrified expressions. The Queen shook her head violently and tears pricked at her eyes.

"I don't want that to happen! Here," she took the bell lyre and held it away from her to Aaron and refused to look at it. She stood up and brought it to Aaron herself, "Here, take it! Take it! Take it far away from here! Don't ever let anyone hold it again! Not ever! Please!" she begged and pushed the bell lyre into Aaron's hands, who was surprised yet pleased at the Queen's cooperation and smiled at her, knowing that, while she couldn't see it, she could certainly feel it. The Queen stepped back, relieved that the bell lyre would be gone and feeling like she had been carrying the world on her shoulder and Aaron just took that burden from her. "Thank you so much, thank you! Thank you for telling me and thank you for taking that awful thing away from here!" she thanked and Aaron nodded and left with a small bow and flew out of the window that was on the right of him. The Queen gasped behind him, now convinced that Aaron must have been something like a god. She called the image of the symbol on his broach to mind and thought and tried to remember where she had seen that specific symbol before?

She turned to Isma with a thoughtful expression. Isma looked at her worried. The Queen dismissed the servants and guards from the room except for Isma.

"What's wrong, Yala? You gave him the bell lyre, the cursed thing is now taken care of! You don't have to worry about it more," Isma said, addressing her Queen, her best friend informally now that they were alone.

"It's not that, Isma. I know the symbol on his broach was that of a god. I just don't know which one and it worries me. Is he perhaps a new god? Or an old god that came back? Well, or a servant of one? I know the old gods had servants. Perhaps he's the servant of a long-forgotten god? I just don't know and it bothers me," Queen Yala said and Isma nodded.

"There's a part of the library concerning all gods that we ever knew of. If you want to I can bring you there or research for you," Isma offered and Queen Yala nodded.

"I'd rather research it myself, but please bring me to the part of the library," she said and Isma nodded.

"Of course," Isma said with a small bow at which Queen Yala laughed.

Aaron left the city, the bell lyre in hand. It amazed him that it had only taken about two hours, if not less, for him to meet Hercules, determine a place to meet up every month, travel to the city, find the Queen and convince her to hand over the bell lyre. And she did so willingly! Which had surprised Aaron, to say the least. He was glad that he now finally had all the cursed instruments in his possession and that they wouldn't pose a threat to anyone ever again, even though he found himself not really caring about the fate of anyone of those kingdoms. Well, perhaps except for Merdi, Sequu, Ansue and Bennie, but only because he had bonded with them and they had helped him acquire the instruments. He smiled at the thought of them. Merdi now a princess, Sequu now a king. He wondered how Ansue and Bennie were fairing, but he decided not to go back and look, he didn't want to interfere in their lives for longer than he needed. He thought about how odd it was that he hadn't Hercules in so long, so long that he had forgotten what he looked like for a brief moment.

Suddenly, he heard a loud _crash_ near him, something falling and breaking through the thick branches of the trees in the forest he was in, disturbing the tranquillity of the forest and startling Aaron to jump and fly backwards, hitting a tree. Pained groans came from the spot and the sound was somehow familiar to Aaron, the voice it belonged to at least. Something was so familiar about this, but he couldn't tell what. It was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't quite grasp it. The pained groans turned into cries and screams of such a miserable ache that it made Aaron's heart fill with sad pity. The cries were desperate, the screams hateful, the silence in between heavy and burdening. Aaron carefully stepped closer, bell lyre strapped onto his back with leather, as he approached whoever was screaming. There on the ground, he found a figure dressed in odd clothing that was ripped and dirty and much too big to fit the thin figure on the ground. He noticed the bruises and gashes, but they looked old and not like they had been just inflicted. This person, whoever it was, was a complete mess.

He approached the person carefully, feeling, for the first time in years, pity for a stranger. He kneeled down next to this man who didn't seem to notice him and he slowly, and very gently, put a hand on this man's shoulder. The man flinched up and backed away, staring at Aaron with wide, startled eyes. Aaron pulled his hand back as he looked at the man's face. His eyes were dull and he had dark bags under his eyes, looking like he hadn't slept in _weeks_. His hair looked like he hadn't combed through it in years and overall he looked like a single touch, no matter how soft, would break him. He looked so familiar, too, but Aaron still couldn't place him, even now that he had seen his face. But he felt like he should help him, strangely enough.

"It's alright, I'm not here to hurt you. Did you fall from a tree?" he asked and the man looked him up and down in confusion.

"Who are you?" he asked, confused and angry and Aaron flinched back.

"For this purpose, call me Aaron," Aaron said, although everything inside him screamed at him to use a different name for himself, but he ultimately decided he wanted to stick with the truth. "With whom do I have the pleasure to converse?" he asked with a soft smile. The man looked at him, trying to make out something, perhaps Aaron was also familiar to him.

"How can you see me?" he asked instead and Aaron frowned for a second but let it slide.

"Oh, am I talking to a ghost then?" he opted for humour and the man scoffed, insulted.

"I'm not _dead_ ," he hissed and Aaron held up his arms in mock defence.

"Sorry, I was trying to make a joke. But seriously, why are you surprised that I can see you?" Aaron asked and the man regarded him oddly and sighed, looking to the side.

"I'm James," he said. And suddenly, it clicked in Aaron's head and his eyes widened.

"The god of the Moon?!" he asked, surprised. He took a closer look at James. He looked absolutely horrible and almost nothing like he had looked when had Aaron met him so long ago. James flinched back at how loud Aaron was and Aaron apologized.

"How can you see me? Why can't I make out your face? You're familiar to me, why?" James asked and Aaron grew nervous, a pit developing in his stomach into which his heart fell with a crash. Shit.

"I-I'm not sure! I don't think I've ever met you before! Unless you were in this realm some other time?" Aaron tried but James shook his head. Screw the truth, Aaron thought, his life depended on a good lie.

"Unlikely," James said and sighed, seemingly dropping the topic, Aaron noticed now that James hadn't been crying, even though it had sounded like it. There were no tears streaking down his cheeks but he still looked absolutely miserable nonetheless. "I could swear I know that voice from somewhere. It's kinda pretty, your voice. Are you a singer?"

Aaron found a blush on his face at the compliment and shook his head.

"Not a professional one, no," he replied and James then saw the bell lyre on Aaron's back.

"I see you play an instrument, though?" he said, pointing to the bell lyre on Aaron's back, Aaron following where James' finger pointed and gulping nervously, thinking how to explain this.

"I'm still in training," he hastily explained. James seemed almost disappointed.

"Will you play something for me?" James asked and Aaron's lips thinned and his hands began fidgeting nervously.

"I don't think I'm good enough for a _god_ ," he tried to talk himself out of this, but James scoffed.

"I couldn't care less. Right now I'll take anything. Heck, I don't feel anything. Haven't for a good long while, so... Play for me?" he said with a soft voice and Aaron frowned nervously. James looked at him with some semblance of hope in his eyes, clouded and blurred by the misery he was drowning in. Aaron remembered the effect the bell lyre had on those who heard it play. It made them happy. Aaron knew that the happiness was fleeting, would cease as soon as the melody stopped, but... he thought that, perhaps, a little bit of happiness is what James needed. Aaron didn't know why he was so miserable. He decided he wanted to find it out first.

"Before I play for you... I'm curious, would you tell me why you look like you're just drowning in misery? The look in your eyes alone is so dull and screams out of agony and pain and- it hurts me to see this..." Aaron said and James sighed but nodded.

"Perhaps I need this off my heart for a moment... " he paused, "I've made mistakes. Many mistakes. I made them all knowing that they were mistakes; knowing each time full and well that what I was doing is wrong. But I did it anyway. Each bloody time, I did it anyway. I thought... I thought somehow it would help me stop feeling... stop feeling a certain way for a certain someone," James sighed.

"Who is this certain someone?" Aaron asked, sitting closer to James. Somehow Aaron felt like he needed to comfort him. Something at his very core compelled him to do so.

"He's... he's dead..." James said and Aaron perked up on the inside. Was he talking about Alexander? "He should be gone, but... he isn't... And I made a huge mistake. I remember when Thomas told me he was pining for me, and... and I was so happy! I was so happy because I felt the same! But... soon after Thomas told me that... he died. I felt it in my very core, it hurt so much. I couldn't get up for days, my heart hurt so much... I felt it so deep within me that he was dead. But he wasn't gone! A dead god disappears, a dead god ceases to exist and... and _he_? He still exists... And I'm just so stupid, so incredibly stupid!" James cried out, burying his head in his knees. This was the lowest Aaron had ever seen a god at. He was now convinced that James was talking about Alexander and now a whole new world of information unravelled before him. Alexander was once in love with James, and James was once in love with Alexander! The thought was incredible to Aaron, a whole new way of looking at James' relationship to Alexander opening up before him.

James continued speaking, "I thought that... I thought that when I made all those stupid mistakes that... that I would stop feeling this for him. For centuries I was able to ignore my feelings! But... then I really saw him again... and I was close enough to see all of him... and I did the most stupidest thing. He had me intrigued at the thought of a secret of his and I flirted with him to maybe try and get it out of him, since I knew how he had felt for me... And then I was too much into it to stop or realise what the heck I was even doing and... I'm an idiot, I kissed him... And every feeling I had been able to ignore up until that point came bursting back into my heart, burning with full force... Fuck..." James clutched at his heart, "I'm terribly stupid, aren't I?"

"Well, it wasn't the smartest thing you could have done, certainly," Aaron said, seeing James in a brand new light.

"He kissed me back for a second and I was so lost in the feeling that I was confused when he apparently realised the ulterior motive I had had before I got lost in the feeling, and pushed me away. Goodness, I'm stupid. So fucking stupid..." James cursed and Aaron put a comforting and gentle hand on his shoulder and James looked at him, "You don't seem like you fear me at all? You were nervous when I asked about you, but then all that nervousness disappeared like poof. Why?"

"I... I don't think we should fear gods... I don't mean we should disrespect them, but we shouldn't need to fear you. A-anyway, um... do you still want to hear me play?" Aaron asked and James looked at him with big, apathetic eyes.

"Play for me?" James asked and gently stroke Aaron's cheek with the back of his hand.

Aaron nodded and, with a deep breath, he pulled the bell lyre from his back and softly began playing it. When James heard the sound of the bell lyre he was filled to the brim with a calm sensation, a calm tranquillity washing over him. It washed away everything he felt and replaced it with an indescribably soothing sensation. It felt like someone was rubbing a healing oil on burns all over his body, as well as within. It filled him so thoroughly he felt, for the first time in years, at ease. He was so blissfully at ease, he didn't notice the tears that began flowing out of his eyes. He began crying, sobbing uncontrollably. His apathy melted away and his heart grew warm and his misery and pain overwhelmed him and washed over him like the ease and he cried. Aaron was surprised for a moment, then smiled. Of course, he thought, James had been numb, he needed to be overwhelmed by all the misery inside of him before he could be happy. He needed to cry.

James cried and sobbed the more he heard Aaron play until there was no tear left to shed and his eyes were milked dry. He was shaking, his head buried in his crossed arms over his knees. Finally, his miserable heart was spent of all its misery. It was empty, and it allowed for the sound of the bell lyre to make it beat with a happy flutter, a beat he hadn't felt in so, so long. His lips were quivering and contorting into a smile. He raised his head and threw it back, looking upwards, to the moon. He marvelled at the night sky. It was full of shimmering stars, glittering so beautifully. And his moon was in the middle of it, shining brighter than the stars but not obscuring their beauty. He had never before seen the night sky from the mortals' realm and it was absolutely breathtaking how the stars shimmered and glistened in such an amazing contrast to the black of the night sky that was otherwise engulfing the world. He remembered the stories he had heard mortals tell of the moon and the stars. They told that the light of the moon would prevent monsters from coming out of their hiding spots and that it protected and guided the mortals of this realm, getting help from the stars for it. The stars and the moon would guide people and bring them hope, that even in the night, the darkest time, there was always a guiding light, a beacon of hope. He laughed. He laughed so freely and loudly, he was sure he disturbed some creature in the forest from sleeping. He laughed so hard, a tear of joy rolled down his cheek. He laughed so much that he didn't notice how Aaron had stopped playing as soon as he had begun to laugh.

With an exhausted sigh, but with a happy smile, his laughter softly stopped and he looked at Aaron with a new shine in his eyes.

"Thank you," he smiled softly, his cheeks flushed red from all the laughing, "Thank you so much."

"I think you needed that above all else... Maybe... well... Maybe you could now reflect on your mistakes and... learn from them? Perhaps you could fix some of the things you've done wrong. I'm sure it's not too late for that," Aaron said, putting a comforting hand on James' shoulder.

"I-... I'm not sure... It might be too late- No... It's probably too late, much too late..." James sighed with a frown, "But... But once I can, and I swear this to you and everything I hold dear, but once I can, I will fix my mistakes, I'll fix everything. He'll never forgive me, but I want to fix things between me and him, somehow. You just wait, I'll somehow fix it!"

There was a new determination in James' voice as he stood up and Aaron smiled up at him and slowly got up himself, strapping the bell lyre to his back.

"I'm sure he'll forgive you eventually. It will take a while, but if you let him know all that you feel for him and let him know you're willing to fix everything, then I'm sure he'll at least let you try," Aaron assured him and James smiled at him for a silent moment and then hugged him, surprising Aaron, who, after a moment of shock, hugged him back and rubbed his back.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," James whispered and Aaron let out a soft laugh.

"No problem," he replied and James let go of him. He pulled a necklace from around his neck off and gave it to Aaron, who hesitantly took it and examined it. The necklace had an amulet on it, a circular shape with some places darker than the others. It was the moon.

"It's a token of my thanks. It's made of the same material as my moon. If you're ever stuck somewhere or if you're ever lost it will shine where you need to go," James smiled at him and Aaron looked at him with surprise.

"I... Thank you? Thank you, I... I don't know what to say..." he said and whispered a small 'Wow' as he looked at the moon amulet closer.

"Ah, it actually changes its shape like the moon. So don't be surprised when it suddenly disappears for a day or so, that would mean it's a new moon," James explained with a smile, "Well... Thanks again and... I hope I'll see you again someday."

Then James left, walking on his light upwards to his moon, the mountain lifted from his heart and his two halves reunited. He let out a heavy breath, relieved to no end and filled with new hope. He was a beacon of hope, and it had been so long since he was filled with hope himself. Aaron smiled to himself and looked at the amulet in his hand. He pulled the necklace over his head, being careful not to accidentally push his hood off, and he placed it under his robes. He decided to bring the bell lyre home shortly before dawn when both James and Thomas wouldn't be watching. He didn't want his cover blown.

James meanwhile, slept. He slept for the first time in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, oh boy, this chapter. I wanted to do this for some time now! Wow, why did I give the Queen of this kingdom a name? I only give relevant characters a name? Oh well, I mean whatever, right? She's just the only ruler that didn't die because of those stupid instruments. Oh wait, I bet you think the 'Cursed Instruments' Arc is done? Ha. Haha. Yeah... Also, it's been three years (well, two years and seven months but I'll say three because bleh) since Aaron has last seen Hercules, just so you know why he couldn't put his face to a name..... Bye!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, Cursed Instruments Arc, final chapter!  
> What's the next Arc you may ask?  
> ...  
> All I'll tell you is that's it's gonna be a fricking LONG Arc. Like, REALLY LONG! I got shit planned for this, yo!  
> Oh, also there's a lot more swearing in this chapter than I usually do so....

Aaron flew upwards shortly before dawn, entering the realm of the gods with ease. He blinked, the realm was bright, he had forgotten how this realm knew no night. He hushed back to the palace and almost stopped dead in his tracks as he felt the presence of a god not too far behind him. With a panic making his heart beat quickly he rushed to the tornado, waving his staff counter-clockwise and rushing through the hole he created, closing it off quickly. With wide eyes he flew back, body hunched over. He felt the presence come closer and he heard the god's voice, but couldn't make out what he was saying. He didn't know this god and he nigh growled as he clutched at the tornado staff. He could finally make out the voice.

"Finally that weed is taken care of. It was about time. I wonder, though..."

The voice grew farther away and Aaron couldn't make it out again. He stared at the spot, glaring it down, where the god had been. With a last suspicious glare, he turned around and flitted to the palace, opening the doors with a flourish of his hands and stepping inside, taking out the map from a pocket in his cloak and looking if the room he had created for the instruments had changed halls. He smiled and hummed when he saw that it didn't, silently celebrating his success. Before, every time he had come back to bring the next instrument here the room he had created for them had changed positions. He had destroyed and recreated the room over and over again, but until now it had not yet properly worked for him. Now the room was in the north hall of the palace. This hall had the distinct trait of having weather. If he was lucky, it would just be slightly sunny, but he knew that this hall was the most dangerous one, because the weather in this hall could be lethal. One day it had rained acid. That had been the day when he had found the cloak and had put the door close to the entrance to the hall, in case it ever rained acid again.

He had also noticed how the north hall had only red and purple chained doors. He had noticed soon that the blue chains were the weakest, whereas black chains, only found in the centre hall, were the strongest. Red were only stronger than blue, but weaker than purple, the second strongest chains. He entered the north hall and sighed. It was raining acid again. At least he was wearing the cloak already. While the acid didn't actually hurt him - Alexander hadn't been kidding when he had said how being in the realm of gods made Aaron both immortal and invincible while he was there - it was a weird feeling, almost like burning, more of an itch that he couldn't scratch and it became worse and worse by the second until he would opt to scratch off parts of his skin to finally get that itch but it wouldn't work and- he shook his head. He really didn't want to remember the first time he had been caught in the acid rain. He shuddered as his mind forced the memory upon him and he shook his head violently trying to rid himself of the horrible phantom sensations the memory made him feel. He looked around for the door, quickly storing the bell lyre under his cloak to protect it from the acid rain. He found the door and flew up to it, knocking on the red chains he had wrapped around it. The door was beige and shaped like a fish. He didn't know why he had shaped it like a fish but he just had.

Inside there were four pedestals next to each other, three of which already held the cursed instruments he had collected. He placed the bell lyre on the empty one. The drum was placed on the first pedestal on the far left with the koto next to it, followed by the flute and then the bell lyre. For some strange reason, Aaron couldn't quite fathom why he had placed them not in the order in which he had found them. He thought nothing of it, though, and turned the bell lyre so the bottom of it pointed away from the other instruments. From this angle, the bell lyre almost looked like a fish's tail. He shrugged and figured it was because this bell lyre was longer than most bell lyres are supposed to be. He turned the drum around and only now really examined it. It had an odd shape, its bottom was round, but not a perfect sphere. It was weird and felt, under the skin of the drum, like there were weird holes there. The skin of the drum, which was around the entire drum for some reason, was riddled with odd motives and pictures, mostly of fish and spears or arrows, he couldn't make out which of the two weapons they were, like tattoos. Now that he thought about it, the drum felt just like a skull, and he almost didn't like how he knew that. A skull with its teeth missing. He turned the drum in a way that made it 'look' to the left. Suddenly uncomfortable, he went on to the koto, examining it closer, now that he had the time to. It looked weird like the other instruments did. It looked a bit like a broad spine, and the strings... They shimmered oddly, almost as though there was oil on it or something like that. He touched the koto, and shuddered away. He ignored it and examined the flute, shuddering again. It felt so much like actual _bone_. And it looked so much like it, too. Was this a human's body? he wondered. Was this perhaps why these instruments were cursed? He gulped and put the flute back on the pedestal, laying it down vertically and going back to the bell lyre. He examined it again. It shimmered oddly, but not like there was oil on it like with the strings of the koto, but... Something else. The bell lyre was purple, scaly, and it looked like the keys were made of thin bones with... with teeth holding them to the bell lyre. He put it down again, sensing a sudden, electric tension in the room. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, rapidly changing colours and he instinctively flew to a corner of the room and shielded his eyes. But there was something powerful there, a powerful presence, and its arrival overpowered him. It wasn't long until everything turned pitch black and he hit the ground.

 

Thomas sat in the sun, in a very bad mood. He hadn't seen Aaron in so bloody long and his worry was clouding his mind. Had he figured out what had happened to Alexander? Had he figured out that Thomas had been lying to him? Did he hate him now? His head was filled with these questions to the brim and overflowing, drowning him in them. He was angry, he was afraid and there was something burning inside of him that hurt him so much. Perhaps it was his desire to hold Aaron and protect him? Perhaps it was his urge to be with him, to have him. He growled. He wanted Aaron to be his so desperately, the mere thought of him excited his senses. He wanted to know where Aaron was, so that he could make sure he's safe, make sure he won't find out what Thomas did, make sure no one else claims him as theirs. But somehow he knew, he won't have a chance with Aaron. He had lied to him and the guilt he felt for it made him hate himself so much, so horribly much. He didn't deserve Aaron, not one bit of him. But really, no one did, he was convinced no one deserved Aaron. No one could deserve him, ever. Really, how could anyone deserve him? With his beauty, in both body and mind, even his heart now that Thomas thought about it, no one could be good enough for him. He would be good enough for anyone, anyone, but no one would ever be good enough for him. Not even a god, Thomas was convinced, not even a god was worthy of him. Not even he. He growled to himself when, suddenly, someone let themselves inside without warning. He turned around to yell at them to get out but he stopped dead in his tracks, mouth half open, when he saw James. His moment of shock was over and a sudden rage boiled inside of him.

"The fuck do _you_ want in here!?" he yelled and James flinched back. He was less of a mess than before, not completely over everything, but having taken a few steps in the right direction. He looked better taken care of than when Aaron had met him in the forest. His hair was no longer a complete rats nest, although James knew that it would take some time until he finally combed out all the knots. He changed his clothes and they fit much more neatly to his body, even though he was still as pale as before and the bags under his eyes had not yet disappeared. He looked better, but not by too much. Of course, Thomas knew nothing of this change as he hadn't seen James change into the mess he had been in the first place. He barely registered how different James looked that very second.

James gulped but tried his best to smile a bit, though it was much more to make himself feel less nervous or uncomfortable under Thomas' glare that was piercing him like a flood of arrows.

"I..." he began and took in a deep breath to ground himself, "I wanted to apologize... I know that-"

" _APOLOGIZE_?!" Thomas interrupted with a loud yell that made James flinch back, but he nodded despite it and Thomas scoffed, "Apologize, he says! He wants to apologize! For what, I wonder? Perhaps for screwing over Alexander completely? For telling Washington about what he did, maybe? Oh, I think I know! Perhaps you're apologizing for fucking up literally everything! Alexander's life, Aaron's life, my life! Congrats, James, you fucked up!"

"I... I know I screwed up... screwed up bad-"

"Oh, understatement of the bloody _century_!" Thomas yelled, "What were you even thinking? _Were_ you even thinking? I don't bloody think so!"

"I... I thought that... no, I... I want to apologize and-"

"I don't want to bloody hear it. Save your apologies for Alexander- oh, wait! You can't apologize to him! You made it so that he isn't available for a loooooooong time!" Thomas interrupted bitterly and James nodded.

"You don't have to listen or... or even forgive me. I don't expect you to forgive me-"

"Then why are you here!" Thomas growled and James took in a deep breath and Thomas turned his back to him with crossed arms and nose turned up high.

"I'm sorry, for everything. I... I screwed up everything I could possibly have screwed up and... I turned against Alexander when he died, I forced myself to ignore how I felt for him for centuries and forced myself to hate him, even though I didn't- _couldn't_ and... damnit, I legitimately thought that what I did would make me feel _better_ but... and I screwed up everything, and there's no way I can fix it now but... I want to and.. and I want you to know... since I can't apologize to him, I... I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Thomas," James said, looking at Thomas, who didn't look like he had been listening. Thomas turned around and glared at him.

"Are you done?" he asked with a sneer and James frowned and looked down.

"I just... wanted to talk to you and-"

"Then leave," Thomas growled and James' head shot up, almost in surprise, but then he thought, what did he expect?

"I-"

"Are you deaf? I said LEAVE!" he shouted and pointed to the exit aggressively.

"I guess..." James laughed bitterly, "I guess I deserve something like that... Anyway," he almost turned to leave, "It was... it was good to see you again. You... I think you should sleep more, you look tired. Don't... don't stress yourself too much..." And with that, he left.

As soon as James left, Thomas screamed, frustrated. How _dare_ James expect him to forgive him?! After all he did James thought that a simple apology would just make _everything_ better?! His body burst into flames, and he whirled around, his fire burning everything nearby in intense bursts and explosions until everything around him had turned to ashes and was pitch black, and his anger was not yet satisfied. He needed to hurt something, to destroy it.

 

Aaron woke up a few minutes later. He felt like he had just had an odd dream. He vaguely remembered James and Thomas having been in it, Thomas yelling at James or something. He opened his eyes and rubbed his head, it hurt slightly, likely from falling to the ground. He looked up and gasped, scooting further back into the corner of the room, his back pressing against the wall. He stared at what was before him with wide eyes.

A blue ball of light was floating above the instruments, smaller, red balls coming out of the instruments and feeding into the blue light, making it grow bigger. The look on his face spelled out his confusion and fear. Suddenly, the blue ball of light took the form of something else. It morphed and melted into another form. It developed a tail, swishing back and forth, then a naked torso, arms and claws, and finally, a head with long, flowing hair. Aaron gasped again and pressed himself tighter against the wall.

 _A siren_.

And it was _singing_.

It was singing a song Aaron knew just too well.

_Bugs and Berries, Birds and Bees_  
Oh, they live in harmony  
Diamond Mountain, crystal sea  
How beautiful can my home be  
Silver snow and golden sun  
If away, to home I'll run  
If away, to home I'll run  
Em'rald grass, sapphire sky  
Happiness that makes me cry  
Pearly clouds, so white and soft  
Birds singing so high above  
My true home, where my heart is from  
Call for me and quick I'll come  
Call for me and quick I'll come 

Aaron blinked, confused, his brows furrowing as he stared at the creature- the spirit before him. Fear welled up inside him and he gulped it down. He had heard so many stories of these creatures, hypnotizing sailors with their voice and body. Then it hit him. Suddenly, everything about the instruments made sense.

The spirit stopped singing and opened its eyes, looking around absolutely confused, until realisation dawned on its face and its lips contorted into a delighted, absolutely excited grin, beaming and absolute joy radiating from it. It spun around, giggling with pure joy and Aaron found himself smiling, too. Something about the joyous laughter of the spirit made happiness nest itself inside of him, hushing away all dark thoughts within him. Then, the spirit's gaze hit him and it stopped, curiously looking at him and coming closer. Aaron wanted to press himself further into the wall, but couldn't. The spirit of the siren examined him carefully, cautiously, hunched over. Then, it touched him. Aaron's eyes lit up into balls of light. He saw flashes of white, flashes of images and pictures of the siren. Then images of himself acquiring the instruments. Suddenly, they were all gone and he stared into the eyes of the siren right in front of him, who looked at him with absolute awe, a blush on its cheeks.

"Y-you... You put me back together again..." the siren whispered and Aaron's brows furrowed in confusion, "You put me together again!" The siren leapt at him and hugged him tightly, its strong arms threatening to crush him and he yelped in pain, making the siren let go suddenly and gasp with an apologetic look in its eyes. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I-... Oh gosh, thank you so much! So much! I couldn't possibly thank you more!"

"Wh-what for?" Aaron asked and the siren beamed at him.

"You put me back together! I- Oh, you don't even know me and- Well, I guess as thanks, I will tell you my name. I'm Nae. I'm... well, I'm dead, a dead siren! But the thing is, I wasn't able to go to the underworld. These horrible humans killed me when I was washed up on shore, lying there helplessly, caught in a net. It cut into my throat! And to add insult to injury, when they killed me they turned me into instruments!" the siren explained with a smile.

"Th... That's horrible!" Aaron exclaimed with shock.

"You're telling me! But I must admit, I make for some pretty good instruments! And, I guess I have to give them some credit," the siren said and turned to the instruments, "They were pretty creative. Look, they turned my head into a drum! Well, my head and my skin. Oh, and that's my spine! And my hair? Oh, wait, that's a koto. Huh! Who'da thunk? Hey, that bone is from my arm! Ohhh, it's a flute... Hey, and they turned my tail into a bell lyre! Alright, I have to admit, that was creative," Nae laughed. Aaron looked at it oddly. Nae turned around to him again, "And you're Aaron, right? Well, thank you! Thanks for putting me back together!"

"So... can you go to the underworld now?" he asked and Nae sighed and shook its head, scratching the back of it.

"I'm afraid not... I'm kinda bound to the living realm. Otherwise, I would've been gone by now. I mean, I would've thanked you and all, but I would've been gone by now. And I wouldn't have told you my name!" Nae said and Aaron raised a brow.

"What... What does that have to do with anything?" he asked and Nae looked at him strangely, then realisation dawned on it.

"Oh, you don't know! Well, you see. Um... When a siren or otherwise um... non-mortal-but-not-divine-creature tells you their name they... well, for that to happen something serious must've happened in the first place because, well... See, our names hold a certain power over us, you know? And um... Well, when someone else calls out our name they... have power over us, kind of... I mean, not power like you can control everything I do, but power like, I'll fight on your side and do everything I can to protect you and... stuff... That kind of power! So, uh... So, it's a pretty big deal when a siren tells you its name," Nae explained. Aaron nodded. "So, basically, if you were to be in an unfavourable situation, like in a fight or something with someone way more powerful than you then you could summon me by whispering my name and I'll appear and I'll help you out."

"That's... wow, that's really nice! That's really nice of you!" Aaron smiled at the siren who laughed.

"Ha, that's nothing! Actually, I could do so much more, and I really should do so much more to make this up to you! I mean, I was completely separated from myself for... for about a century! Think that! Your mind can't even comprehend a century! Wait, you can. But! I could make it so you can comprehend even MORE than a century! And by THAT I mean... Well, basically I mean I can make you live longer. It's kinda weird, but I know I can still do it even though I'm dead... You ever heard of a Siren's Kiss?" it asked and Aaron shook his head. He only vaguely remembered something like that and he wasn't sure what Nae meant. "Okay, so, basically when a siren kisses a mortal, their lifespan is extended by three centuries! And you know what? That'll be my gift to you!"

"What? No!" Aaron wanted to protest, but Nae's lips were already on his forehead and he felt something that felt loud and bright fill up his heart. It was warm and light and heavy. It was weird and it felt right and wrong at the same time. It vibrated through his entire being, through every cell in his body and took an eternity to reach through each limb, yet it was over in less than a second. Nae pulled away from his forehead and smiled down at him but Aaron stared at it with shocked, wide open eyes and mouth.

"My gift to you! Three centuries of life!" Nae smiled brightly and Aaron frowned at it angrily.

"Why did you do that?" he asked in disbelief and Nae raised a brow.

"To... pay you back? I mean, I don't want to have to owe you anything, so-"

"You didn't even owe me anything! I didn't even expect anything! I didn't even know those instruments were- were you? I mean..." he sighed, exasperated and frustrated, "You know what? Nevermind. Just, nevermind. I mean, you probably can't reverse this so..." he sighed and groaned all in one, "Nevermind all this. Just, whatever."

"Um... sorry? I guess? I mean, you're probably the first human to _not_ want to live longer than they should and... Well... Wow, I got nothing. I'll just, um... You know what? Let's just not go through the whole 'you have to summon me by calling out my name' thing, that's too much trouble, so... uh... Oh! I got an idea! Take a hair from the koto! Wait, I can do that. I keep forgetting that I can do stuff now that I'm semi-corporeal!" Nae laughed nervously and floated over to the koto, gently peeling the hairs from it and turning back to Aaron. "You're gonna wear that thing a lot, aren't you?" It asked and pointed to Aaron's cloak.

Aaron nodded, "I suppose I will."

"Then don't mind if I put a bit of myself in there!" Nae said and Aaron frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Aaron asked and Nae took a sharp bone from one of the instruments and plucking a hole into the blunt side, creating a needle. It then took the hairs and somehow melted them together at their ends into one long hair and pushed the hair through the eye of the needle.

"Well, when I sew some of myself, in this case, my hair, into your cloak, I'll be with you throughout your... adventures, I guess. If there's ever a moment you need protection, I'll already be there! Ain't that neat? I hope it somehow makes up for my little... unwanted action. Sorry again, I hope this makes up for it," Nae laughed and Aaron snorted as he let Nae get to work sewing itself into his cloak.

"I suppose having a constant companion with me would be... comforting, to some degree. In constant company, constant protection. It has something comforting about it, I suppose," Aaron nodded and watched somewhat in awe how Nae worked on his cloak, its needlework careful and its patterns intricate, spirals and waves and leaves. Nae was sewing wind patterns into his cloak. "So, that... that song you sang," he started and Nae looked up from its work.

"What of it?" Nae asked and went back to its work.

"I... I dreamed of that song once and... Hercules, a muse, brought it into my memory again when I played on a koto to get...yours... Why did I know your song?" he asked and Nae hummed.

"Well, I called out to the gods. But I suppose I could only reach you. And I think it was for the better. Heck, we all know how selfish the gods are. They wouldn't have helped one siren in need," Nae explained and Aaron nodded, silently agreeing. In all of the stories he'd heard of the gods, they didn't really help if there wasn't anything in it for them." Soon, Nae was done. "Aaaaaaand, done! I think I outdid myself on this one! No, wherever you go, I'll be with you!" Nae smiled brightly at him, showing off its sharp teeth that made Aaron uncomfortable to some degree. But Aaron smiled at Nae, there was nothing about this he could change now. He accepted it like one would resign themselves to the inevitability of date. Or death.

Aaron finally stood up from the ground and stretched, feeling much better now. Nae disappeared, light flashing from it and its hair sewn into his cloak. He somehow instinctively felt that Nae was inside his cloak, was close to him. The feeling was warm and comfortable, despite the otherwise cruel nature of the creature. He felt instinctively protected. He was smiling.

"Alright, let's go looking for Alexander," he said to himself, exiting the room. The acid rain had turned brown. He smelled it and laughed. Chocolate. It was raining chocolate! He laughed and quickly left the north hall, quickly passed through the main hall, exited the palace, flew through the tornado, careful to look out for any passing gods, and left for the mortal realm to finally go looking for Alexander.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAAY! I kinda like the name Nae. I literally came up with that name when I mistyped the word 'name' and didn't type the 'm'. Thus, Nae was born! (I was planning this thing for some time, and I'm afraid but also very curious on how you'll react to it, this is exciting!)  
> James is taking his first steps into becoming a better person! Also very exciting!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's late, I'm tired. Alexander is too! Lotsa time will pass!

Alexander sat quietly in the vial, he didn't say a word. He was still in that awful mood, but right now he could actually express it to some degree. The Judge was asleep and unaware of Alexander's mood shifting. After that day where he had been bitter and angry towards the Judge he had regretted it instantly, even more so when the Judge had left him on some nightstand and hadn't put the necklace on for two days in a row. It had been then that Alexander had found out that the Judge could only hear him when he wore the necklace his prison was attached to. The Judge had later claimed he had simply forgotten to put the necklace on, but Alexander would have been a fool not to realise it was as further punishment for his attitude. From then on he had sworn to himself never to express his actual moods to the Judge, he couldn't risk that again. The Judge had asked him on the third day when he had finally 'remembered' that Alexander was something that still existed in his life, why his voice was so hoarse. Alexander hadn't dared reply to that, and he'd be damned if he would admit it to the Judge. He had screamed, a lot, quite a lot, actually. A whole lot. A whole damn lot. Screamed and cried, he could admit that to himself, he had cried a whole lot, too. And the Judge hadn't been able to hear him, because he had 'forgotten' about it. Yeah, right, Alexander thought, Yeah, right. Because you just 'forget' about the person who you forced into a vial, who had been a nuisance to you for centuries and then some and who you intended to punish for his 'crimes'. Of course, Alexander thought bitterly, and said it out loud, too.

"Forget. Ha, don't make me laugh. The fucking least you could've done was tell me the truth. Like he thinks I don't know when he's lying to me, like he thinks I'm so fricking gullible and naive and will believe every damn bloody thing he tells me. I have a functioning brain, you damn arse, I can think! And I bloody know when some prick thinks he's as slick as an eel. Lemme tell you what: you ain't. You're not as slick as you think you are, or as clever, or heck, even as powerful as you think you are. You think you're so damn powerful, you think there ain't nothing that could be more powerful than you. Sucks to be your ignorant ass. It's almost funny. If only you bloody knew..." Alexander spat, memories flooding into him, memories from way back when.

Alexander remembered them. When he had died, memories of them had come flooding back to him in violent bursts. It had been the main reason as to why he had disappeared for some time after he had died. Well, he had still pulled off the prank on the god of autumn, but seriously nothing ever got between him and his pranks, not even the realisation that he had been part of something powerful. And he realised that to some degree, the Judge must've known about them too, and their deaths. But somehow Alexander knew that the Judge didn't actually know the meaning they had held, the power they had held. And technically, only one of them was left standing, since he was technically dead. So let's say, one and a half were still standing. The rest of them had been forgotten a long time ago.

He sighed and slammed his head into the glass around him, somehow hoping that this time, unlike his other countless attempts, it would break the glass. Alas, it didn't and he quietly asked himself why he even bothered with anything anymore. He should just wait out his punishment, or die. Whichever one came first, he guessed. With a bitter laugh he realised, his death would come first, and then there would only be one of them standing. The only one who would never die, no matter what, because he was such an integral part of existence. And the Judge had no damn clue that there had been, and still was essentially, something much more powerful than him. It was amusing to Alexander, bitterly amusing. It was just so funny to him, he didn't know what to do with himself. He had memories of grand times, grand adventures, had finally remembered the origin of some of his collected artefacts, had finally found the rhyme and reason to why he had felt so depressed so often throughout his last four centuries of being alive before he technically kicked the bucket. He knew, somehow, that no one remembered the gods who were forgotten and who then died. They didn't remember anything about them. But he also knew now that those who were close to those who had died felt their absence, because at their very core they just knew something was missing. They didn't know how, they didn't know what. They only knew that something was indeed missing. It was somewhat tragic. Those forgotten by the world below are forgotten in the world above, by force. The thought that came after amused him.

Their existence was entirely dependant on the mortals of the realm below. They couldn't exist without the mortals, yet they wouldn't hesitate to annihilate a whole damn kingdom if one of them wronged them. Well, he thought, _wronged_ them might have been the wrong term. When a mortal was merely disagreeing with a god, that would have been cause enough to kill not only the mortal, but curse their entire family, or village, or why not the whole kingdom? Gods were petty, and selfish, and just all-around pricks. Even those gods who had been mortals before and had been turned into gods acquired the trait. Alexander sighed. He didn't know if he had been the same. Had he been the same as them? He hoped not, he really did. He let out a last, frustrated scream, and punched against the glass, not managing to do anything but hurt himself. But he didn't care. He felt vibrations, like thunder and the vial was moving and he hit his head as the vial was carelessly picked up. He sighed and adopted an amused grin onto his face and a playful tone into his voice, despite how much he just wanted to yell and scream. The Judge had picked the necklace up and had put it around his neck.

"Morning! I see you didn't forget me today?" he asked with a too playful tone in his voice, but the Judge actually didn't notice it and laughed along, although a little uncomfortable at Alexander so bluntly calling it out.

"It won't happen again," he assured and Alexander let out a mocked scoff.

"Yeah, right! You just wanted to get rid of me for a few days, admit it!" he sighed dramatically, "Is my voice that awful and terrible that you needed a break from my constant jammering? Go on, say it, I can take it, don't worry about hurting my fragile little heart!"

But the Judge only replied with a laugh and went on with his day, ignoring Alexander mostly unless when he asked Alexander for advice on this or that. It was a bit annoying to Alexander, to only be used as an advisor, because he knew more than the Judge could ever possibly know. He sighed and wondered how Aaron was doing, hoping he was doing better.

 

Aaron was looking for Alexander, looking through village after village, town after town, city after city, asking around if anyone had ever heard about some strange occurrences concerning strong, unexpected winds, especially when that was unusual for the place. But each time he only came up empty-handed. No one knew anything. It took him years to ask through two kingdoms. Twenty years in total to ask through four of them. He hadn't aged a day physically speaking, even though he spent most of his time in the mortal realm, with the exception of when he had to get back to the palace and take care of the animals and plants, but those only took two days at most, now that he had perfected it. He remembered Edel, the grumpy woolmilkpig that had liked him so much, and he remembered the day when it had stopped giving milk. It was almost painful to lead it to the chopping block, but he had seen in Edel's eyes that it had accepted its fate a long time ago and that Edel was expecting nothing else this entire time. The thought comforted Aaron when he had watched the life drain out of Edel's eyes before him. Edel hadn't been the first woolmilkpig he had led to the chopping block before, but it had been the first time in which he had really realised and registered what he was doing. But thanks to Edel, he had just as quickly had accepted it. And Alexander had been right to breed Edel's eggs separately, its meat had actually tasted better than that of the others, and Aaron hadn't known before that that was possible.

In these twenty years - he realised Alexander had missed twenty-three of his birthdays, and the thought alone absolutely killed him - Aaron had met up with Hercules at Crumbling Hill very often. It wasn't just once a month, it became a once a week deal for them. Through their combined search for Alexander, they had grown closer, a lot closer. Aaron dared to compare it to his relationship with Alexander which was rooted in a deep codependence on each other. They had depended on each other for affection, physical or otherwise, and support for years, in a time where neither could have found it anywhere else. It had been in a desperate time, and Aaron dared to compare it to the circumstances to his and Hercules' close bond.

That day was another on which they would meet up. Aaron was already standing atop the hill and looked down onto the forest that lay beneath, at the foot of the hill. He waited for Hercules, who was uncharacteristically late that day. Suddenly, two hands covered Aaron's eyes and he jumped. He turned around and laughed when he saw Hercules. Hercules grinned sheepishly at him with a blush creeping onto his cheeks. Hercules sat down and patted the space next to him. Aaron followed the unspoken offer and sat down next to him on the hard ground. Hercules stared in awe ahead, watching the soft winds rustle through the leaves of the forest below.

"You know, I love the view from this hill," he said softly and Aaron nodded along, leaning his head on Hercules' shoulder. He remembered the day he had told Hercules of Nae and the Siren's Kiss when Hercules had asked why he didn't seem to be ageing, his judgement made purely from his voice and not his looks as Aaron still refused to push his hood off. He knew that Thomas was looking for him and he didn't want to see him while he couldn't trust him. Hercules understood, even though he still commented on how it was a straight up shame that Aaron wouldn't show his beauty. Like he was lamenting the fact and Aaron always found it amusing.

"It's comforting. It always stays the same, and yet it also changes. But, you know, it's predictable. You know when it changes and why it does it. And, well, I'm sure you also know _who_ does it," Aaron joked and Hercules laughed, causing Aaron to grin widely. It was so nice hearing Hercules laugh. He noticed that so often when Hercules would laugh at one of his jokes. He liked Hercules' laugh, he had to admit. It was carefree and open, like he was proud of its deep, vibrating volume. It was the complete opposite of Aaron's small, almost timid laughter. Although, he thought, his laughter did often change depending on the company he was in. In an unfamiliar company his laughter would be timid and small, but with Hercules, he noticed, it was a lot like his, though it wasn't as deep or carefree. Aaron's laughter was often heavy, no matter how much joy he felt, the last laugh he would let out would always be heavy with the realisation that Alexander was still not found and it dawned on him that Alexander might actually already be dead. The thought terrified him to no end.

"Yeah, I get what you mean! So, have you found anything?" he finally asked with dread, knowing that the answer, like so many times before would be-

"No, I haven't, have you?" Aaron replied and Hercules shook his head.

"Nothing about Alexander. I heard of this strange valley where the people there have never had a night in their life, but that's about it," Hercules sighed. Aaron grumbled and put his chin on his knees, pulling his knees up to his chest closely.

"I just... Sometimes I think that... what if he's dead? I... I wouldn't know, would I?" he asked and Hercules hook his head.

"You would know. Because if Alexander was really dead, the gods would forget him. And so far Thomas still knows who he is!" Hercules replied with a reassuring smile. Aaron looked at him hopeful.

"I've always wondered... how different is a muse from a god?" he asked and Hercules closed his eyes in thought.

"Hmm... Well, we can't die, for starters. Even though the concept of us can be forgotten, we don't die because of it. We're a sudden spark in your head that gives you just the right words, just the right notes, just the right ideas to compose a masterpiece. We're not worshipped, that would mean we could be controlled, which we can't be. Gods can be influenced by the prayers of their worshippers, we come and go as we please. We're not bound to that," he explained. Aaron frowned.

"So... do you remember any other gods that died?" he asked and Hercules' brows furrowed and he looked to the ground.

"I... I can't say I can..." he admitted and Aaron sighed.

"Well, then I suppose I'll notice Alexander's death when you forget him..." Aaron said. Hercules wanted to reassure him, when suddenly, the earth began to rumble. It took him a quarter of a second to realise that an earthquake was coming on. Aaron realised this sooner than he did, flying upwards in a panic.

The next few seconds passed too quickly, Hercules teleported away from the hill, which broke open and pushed off of the other plates. Aaron watched the whole ordeal happen from above with an odd fascination, coupled with a horrified glare as he watched the hill upon which he and Hercules had spent so much time together crumble and break and fall apart. It wasn't a nice sight to see for him, it was like another thing dear to him was being ripped away right from his grasp, right from under his nose, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

It was over almost as soon as it had begun, and the hill, as well as the forest around it, lay all crumbled and broken beneath him. As soon as the earthquake had stopped, he had flown down to look closer at the damage done. A sadness pricked at his heart from seeing this beloved place in ruins.

Then, he stopped dead in his tracks. His brows furrowed in confusion and he dared closer. He was intrigued by what he found. It seemed like the earthquake had revealed the entrance to something. To something long forgotten. Hercules appeared beside him with a saddened expression, not looking at the entrance. Aaron tapped on Hercules' shoulder and pointed towards what he had found.

"What is this?" he asked and Hercules shook his head.

"I... I don't know?" he replied and Aaron stepped closer to the entrance, peaking inside, "Wait, don't do that! We don't know what that is or what might be inside it! There was just an earthquake! If you're in there and aftershocks come you'll be dead!"

"I won't be. I have a very protective spirit as my backup plan, you know," he said and stepped inside, Hercules cautiously following him.

"I'm not sure that thing can protect you," he gulped and Aaron snorted.

"You won't believe how offended it would be that you said that," he said with a snort and continued onwards, Hercules close behind him, ready to protect Aaron from a collapsing old structure.

The more Hercules was inside this place the more familiar its structure became to him and suddenly he realised what it was they were inside of.

"This is a temple!" he exclaimed and Aaron looked at him confused. "I bet my parchment that this is a temple!"

"Do you know for whom this temple was?" Aaron asked but Hercules shook his head.

"I have no idea. I think... Wow, I think the god might be dead then..." he whispered and Aaron was now even more intrigued than he had been before. They walked along a corridor until they found themselves in a large room. There were patterns painted onto the walls, pictures and images and runes that Aaron didn't know what they were but he was sure he recognised them from somewhere. There was an altar at the end of the room and a giant circle was painted onto it. Aaron stepped closer and crouched down, examining it.

"I could swear I've seen this symbol somewhere before," he said.

"You mean the circle?" Hercules asked with a brow raised.

"It has more meaning than that. Look around, Herc. There are symbols everywhere. Even on this altar, there are countless symbols. You can't tell me then that this giant circle smacked on the front of it means nothing," Aaron scoffed and Hercules nodded.

"I guess you have a point, but... Neither of us knows what the heck this even is. I can't read it and I'm even older than civilisation!" Hercules exclaimed and Aaron hummed.

"Then it must be something forgotten. A forgotten language, a forgotten...way..." he hummed and let his hand brush over the symbol. "I've seen this before somewhere. Runes like this and... I think I saw them in Alexander's library..."

"Wait, he has a library?" Hercules asked.

"He has a lot of things," Aaron simply explained, "I think I won't be approachable until I find out what this means. Until then you could perhaps find a new place where we could meet up and tell me some time later. I'll let you in at the palace even..."

Aaron made his way out of the temple and Hercules followed him.

"What if you don't find anything?" he asked.

"Unlikely. Alexander has a lot in his library. He had an eternity to collect those books and I bet my left arm that he has this language somewhere in those books. I just need to find them," he said and took flight off the ground and flitted upwards, entering the realm of the gods and hushing through the tornado and into the palace, then into the library.

It took him a week and a half, but eventually, he found a book with the same runes and symbols as in the temple. Excited, he simply devoured the book and the other books he found afterwards. He found books that explained the symbols and runes, notes attached to them written by Alexander explaining things with little messages to himself like 'Don't forget this again', 'This is actually important' and by far Aaron's favourite one 'Pronounce like you have a ball stuck in both cheeks, turn into a hamster, Alexander, turn into a hamster!'.

He devoured each and every book on the topic, and it took him five whole years, with frequent visits from Hercules to check up on him and make sure he ate, slept and drank enough, to finally, finally understand the runes and letters and symbols. He still had difficulty translating, but he hoped that with more time, and he knew he had enough of that, he would be able to be fluid in this dead and forgotten language, which he found out through some revisiting of the oldest books, was called Qjuanjoith. It was as much of a pain to pronounce as it looked written out in modern letters, while it was only three letters in its original form. It was a frustrating language, to say the least, but he now understood it. He could pronounce it with only minor difficulty and he could decipher most of the words and figure out what they meant after some time. The language didn't remind him of any other language he knew of, it almost seemed like there was no connection between this torture of a language and any other one. Alexander was right, though, you had to pronounce everything like you had a ball stuck in both cheeks. A bit embarrassingly, he had to admit that he sometimes chanted Alexander's words to himself 'Turn into a hamster, turn into a hamster!' and he hated to admit that even to himself, but it actually worked.

He sighed, sitting over the papers and books all around him, Hercules right next to him, staring at the books and symbols and words with such a confusion it amused Aaron.

"I still can't believe you understand what this thing says," he whispered in awe, brows furrowed as he couldn't for the life of him figure any of this out.

"It's easy once you get a hang of the basics. The pronunciation is full on torture, though and I want to die, speaking these words. Jhuchthul Scjaghja mejhkpoqj nejq," he muttered and Hercules looked at him as though he was possessed. Maybe he was, Aaron considered.

"What does THAT mean?" he asked, mouthing the words, but his tongue couldn't grasp it.

"It means: Torture is brought upon me... Well, technically mejhkpoqj means 'before' or 'over' instead of 'upon' but it doesn't work that well in translation, the meaning is lost. I mean, what the sentence actually means is: 'This is torture to me', but 'Torture is brought upon me' is more close to it, you know?" he said and Hercules shook his head.

"I honestly don't," he replied and Aaron simply shrugged, shut a book he had been holding, stood up and stretched.

"Well, I'm bloody tired! I think I'll go back to the temple tomorrow or something. Maybe I'll revise some books before I go, though. I want to actually know the stuff that the walls are saying. You know, this is really exciting! Uncovering a long-lost language and with it, long-lost ways of living, long-lost traditions and customs! Oh, it's exciting, isn't it?" he exclaimed and Hercules nodded, although not as enthusiastically.

"I suppose it is..." he muttered and Aaron was suddenly behind him, leaning on his back and startling him.

"You come to bed, too," he said and pulled at Hercules' shoulders. Hercules' cheeks flushed a deep red.

"We haven't slept in the same bed in years!" he exclaimed but Aaron only shrugged.

"So?" he asked and Hercules had no answer to that, "I'm tired, you're tired. It's just sharing a bed, Herc. It's not like we have to sleep right next to each other and cuddle the whole night. I mean, we could, but the bed is big, if you don't want to, you don't have to."

And with that, Aaron went off to the bedroom with Hercules following close behind, not wanting to get lost in Alexander's huge palace. They did end up cuddling in the night and Aaron may or may not have initiated it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus the new arc shall begin in the next chapter!
> 
> Damn a lot of time passed! 25 years passed! Damn! Aaron still got his looks though!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The arc shall begin *evil grin* (

The next morning, Aaron awoke particularly early, finding Hercules cuddled into him and he snorted. The look of Hercules' face was absolutely adorable. A small blush came onto Aaron's cheeks and he decided to cuddle into Hercules' chest. Such a calm feeling washed over him as he lay there pressed softly into Hercules that he forgot for a moment how heavy life weighed on him. Just for this calm moment, led by the soft rhythm of Hercules' breath and heart into a soft state of just existing. Goodness, he realised, it had been so long since he had just let himself exist without... Without an ulterior motive. He sighed, happily, a soft smile visiting his lips as he felt Hercules wrap his arms around him in his sleep. The moment was so calm, so weightless, he just wanted to be here forever, be calm and happy and leave all the heaviness of his life behind. A happy little existence. A thought wormed into his head that he shouldn't feel this light, that he should be up and about figuring out the mysteries that lay before him, that the heaviness would cease once he figured everything out. He wanted to banish the thought. It was better for him to take a break for once. He didn't need to be out there at all times and do something. He was allowed to take a break. he needed this small break, this chance to just drop everything. He would resume the heavy load and put it back onto his shoulders again, but he knew it was dangerous to carry it for longer than he was able to. He needed this moment, and he needed it to last as long as he could make it last.

Suddenly, Hercules stirred beside him and Aaron pressed his face tighter into his chest and wrapped his free arm around him tightly.

"Um... A-Aaron?" Hercules muttered, still sleepy and Aaron shushed him with a finger to his lips.

"Shh... relish the moment, this is nice..." he whispered and cuddled into Hercules' chest even more. Hercules was stunned into silence, but did as Aaron asked. He found that Aaron was right, this closeness was nice. Really nice. He felt the distinct warmth of Aaron's body against his and he put his head on Aaron's, pulling him closer. Aaron didn't protest and they lay there like that for two more hours, just enjoying each other's presence, just existing with each other. Aaron didn't want to let go, but he knew he had to.

Slowly, they both rose from the bed, sticking close to each other, even as they left the palace for the mortal realm. Hercules still wondered how Aaron was able to just enter and exit the realm of gods so easily and without assistance. He thought that maybe Alexander showed him a way to do it. Hercules wouldn't be surprised if it turned out his idea was correct. Alexander was old enough that he would know that. He wondered just how old Alexander was. he only knew for certain Alexander was older than him, because he distinctly remembered being the third muse to be 'born'. He remembered it so well.

_Hercules just woke up, confused, in a forest, next to a hut. His brows furrowed as he stood up from the ground and slowly approached the hut, looking in through a window. There sat a young girl, sixteen years of age perhaps, rubbing away line after line from a plate of rock. She was frustrated and held her head in her hands and groaned._

_"I'll never get this right! She'll hate me! She'll absolutely hate me!" she yelled, adding onto the confusion Hercules felt. Something inside of him itched to help, but he didn't know how. He tilted his head to the side and stepped away from the hut, though this itch inside him compelled him to stay._

_He suddenly felt a harsh brush of wind against his back and he turned around and jumped and yelped when he saw an odd figure floating in front of him. The stranger laughed loudly and flew slightly back, his back facing the ground and his feet up in the air as he held his stomach and laughed. Hercules looked at him with an odd stare, confused beyond belief._

_"Well, I see another muse is born! Do you know who you are?" the stranger asked when he had finally calmed down from the laughter and floated on his stomach, holding his head on his hands. Hercules wasn't sure what he meant, but he could answer. Somehow he knew how to answer that._

_"I'm... I'm Hercules... I... How do I know that? Wh-who are you? Wh-what are you? What am I? What am I doing here? I just woke up and..." Hercules stuttered quickly, almost in a panic and Alexander floated to ground level, putting his feet onto the ground, and put a comforting hand on Hercules' shoulder._

_"Don't worry, it's okay. I'm Alexander, god of winds and storms. And you, Hercules, you're a muse," he explained and Hercules looked at him with more confusion, even though he had known the answer._

_"A... a muse? Wh...What..." he was unsure of how to ask this. He somehow knew the answer to all of his questions, to his absolute confusion, but he simply couldn't comprehend them, "What do... What do I do?" he finally asked and Alexander smiled softly at him. Understanding and willing to help out. That smile made Hercules feel so much better about the confusion he felt. Like it was okay._

_"You inspire people, Hercules. You inspire them to create something, something beautiful, that's what you do," he answered and Hercules nodded._

_"B-but how... how do I do that?" he asked and Alexander shook his head._

_"Every muse does it differently. You will have to find out yourself, but I promise you that it won't be bad. You get to find out who you are on your own little adventure!" he smiled brightly and Hercules hesitantly smiled back._

_"Th-there are more muses? More like me?" he asked._

_"Yup! And they do something similar to you. They inspire, but each inspires them to create something different," Alexander explained and Hercules laughed bitterly._

_"I must be the only one acting like I know nothing about this... I know what I am... I know what I'm supposed to do but... I'm still so confused? I don't... I don't even know why I'm confused?" Hercules admitted and Alexander put his hand on Hercules' back and rubbed it comfortingly with a soft smile._

_"It's okay. You just came into existence. Of course, you're confused, you weren't given the chance to get used to it. Who could expect you to comprehend everything right after you came into being? It's okay, Hercules." Alexander assured but Hercules looked to the side, unsure of himself._

_"But... I don't even know how to do what you told me... I mean... I know how to do it but... This is so confusing, I... I'm not sure if I can do this..." Hercules muttered and Alexander nodded, understanding._

_"Well, there is no other way to find out than to try," he smiled reassuringly and Hercules looked at him for a moment before he hesitantly nodded and turned his gaze to the girl in the hut who was still as frustrated as she was before and close to abandoning what she had been doing._

_Hercules lifted his hand, he somehow knew what to do, deep within him, he knew how to do it. After he took in a deep breath, he snapped his fingers. A small yellow spark in the form of a star shot forth from his fingers and wandered to the girl. It was careful and unsure, morphing and melting and taking form again, before it seemed to just skip forwards in a dance, rapidly changing form from a star to a heart to a ball and a square and a star again. As soon as the spark hit the girl, her head shot up and her eyes widened and she gasped. Her chest tightened and images, ideas, thoughts rushed into her head._

_She grabbed a piece of chalk from the side of the desk and began writing quickly, furiously, like there would be negative consequences if she didn't finish in time. A few furiously inspired minutes later, and she was done, beaming down at her work, having finally accomplished what she had been wanting to do for so long now, but had been so close to just giving up. She picked it up and ran out of the hut into the small village, too excited to wait a moment longer, directly running to another hut and bursting inside. Alexander motioned for Hercules to follow, which he reluctantly did. He had thought his job was over with giving her the spark to complete her work. He hadn't anticipated, and he didn't know deep within like with the rest of his purpose that he was supposed to look at what happened next. Or was that even part of what he was supposed to do? he wondered. He didn't feel an itch to see the rest of it unfold, so he had just assumed it wasn't part of what he was supposed to do. Maybe it wasn't, he figured, maybe it was just Alexander making him see what his work did. They looked into the hut from outside and saw how the girl pressed the stone plate into another girl's hands, a blush on her cheeks. When the other girl read it, her eyes grew wide and a blush crept onto her cheeks as well. She nodded and the first girl was absolutely excited and they fell into each other's arms and kissed. Hercules' eyes widened. His work had caused this!_

_"A poem..." Hercules muttered, "She wrote the first poem..."_

_"A poem? That sounds neat," Alexander smiled and Hercules beamed at him._

_"She wrote the first poem! She... She made me exist? She made me appear? Th-this is what my work does?" he asked, excited._

_"It's what it can do! I'm proud of you, Hercules! You did extremely well!" Alexander praised and Hercules beamed._

_"And there are... there are more like me?" he asked then, suddenly excited and Alexander nodded enthusiastically._

_"Yup! You're the third one! Oh, you're going to LOVE John and Peggy!" he exclaimed and took Hercules' hand and flew upwards. Hercules let out a yelp._

_"Wh-what are they the muses of?" he stuttered, willing himself not to look down at all costs._

_"Oh, Peggy, she was the first one, she's the muse of song and dance. John is the muse of tragedy. They're both pretty good friends of mine! I hope you will, too!" Alexander grinned at him and Hercules laughed. He liked him._

Hercules knew Alexander was older than him. He knew that Alexander was older than both John and Peggy, they had told him their own stories of meeting Alexander. It had been weird to them, Alexander had found them always immediately after they had been 'born'. And with Charles and Samuel, it had been no different. Alexander had been helpful and supportive of them throughout their first minutes of existence, they had always been confused and he had always known just what to say to reassure the new muses, who naturally were very unsure of their job right after just popping into existence. Hercules remembered this very fondly, just like the day Alexander had brought them the infinite parchment, ink and the divine lyre. It made him just the sadder as he thought about just how awful everyone had been to him after he had died. How even the muses had resented him, despite their relationship and their history with Alexander.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when they landed in front of the temple. Aaron skipped ahead, excited to finally figure out what the temple was all about. Aaron hushed inside and Hercules had trouble keeping up with Aaron since Aaron was using the winged sandals to flit into the temple. Aaron flitted around the big room within, trying to find where he was supposed to begin to read. Hercules finally caught up with him.

"So, can you read it?" he asked and Aaron yelped in triumph.

"Ha! I found it!" he exclaimed.

"What did ya find?" Hercules asked and Aaron hummed.

"The beginning of this thing. It starts all the way up here! Let's see... Alright, it begins with a consonant so... Mejhlplojq, krituplq... Ah, okay... So... Wait, what? Pushing a mountain?" he muttered and Hercules raised a brow.

"What's it say?" Hercules asked and Aaron scribbled something down in a book Hercules didn't notice him carrying before.

"It's... It's a story? Or perhaps a legend... about a goddess that had the power to move the mountains themselves and... The priests in this temple needed to learn the spell that holds that power to be considered high priests... The spell moves the earth... can move a mountain if the will of the priest is strong enough..." he muttered and followed the letters on the wall, "This is strange..."

"You can say that again," Hercules mumbled.

"No, really, this is strange. It's a whole story of one of many powerful gods, more powerful than, well, than anything, really and... It's just weird... This goddess is... the goddess of earth is dead... All of this has been abandoned, and so suddenly! I wonder what happened? This is only the story of the goddess and the spell and- wait... Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Aaron flew closer to the walls again, rereading the words.

"What's wrong?" Hercules asked. Aaron's brows furrowed as his fingers brushed over some of the letters, brushing some dust away. He came across a circle and carefully read the words surrounding it. Intrigued, he placed the nails of his thumbs over each other and parted index fingers from thumbs. His brows furrowed further and he turned his hands into the reverse position, having signed a circle.

With a sudden blast of light from his hands, the stone wall in front of him was violently pushed twenty meters away from him and Aaron was knocked back to the opposite of the room, hitting the wall and falling to the ground with a crash and a thud, a blue light emitting from his cloak upon each impact. Hercules rushed to him.

"Aaron! Are you okay? Wh-what happened?" he yelped and Aaron got up from the ground, hissing and rubbing at his wrist.

"I'm okay. Nae buffered the crash... The inscriptions described how to do the spell of Moving Mountains and- what the?" a burning sensation was on his wrist and he looked down on it, his eyes widening when a circle began glowing around his wrist, then disappeared.

"What is that?" Hercules asked.

"A circle," Aaron joked uncomfortably. "But otherwise? I have no clue... Nothing on the walls said anything about... whatever this was" Aaron stared at where the mark had been on his wrist, it still felt like it was burning and he hissed when he let his left hand brush over it. He bit the inside of his cheek and glared down at his wrist. He grumbled at it in confusion and glared at the stone wall with the spell on it. Then he perked up. The stone wall was pushed further inside of the hill, opening up a wide space. The ground, however, interested him the most. There was a square hole in the ground, that couldn't have possibly been made by nature. He stood up and floated to the hole, discovering stairs leading down into another room.

"Okay, now I'm _really_ into this!" Hercules said and stared down the stairs. Aaron began descending the stairs, finding that the room, a corridor at the feet of them was illuminated by lit torches with unusually bright flames.

"These torches... Either someone still somehow lives here or these torches are kept lit by some spell," Aaron figured.

"Why would anyone keep these things lit forever?" Hercules asked, grabbing a torch from the wall.

"How would anyone survive here without anything, to keep them lit?" Aaron returned and took a look around as Hercules nodded. There were no inscriptions on the walls, just patterns and images of mountains. It was a corridor in which they were in, and Aaron followed it.

"Touché. Hey, wait up!" Hercules followed Aaron, placing the torch in his hand back onto the wall. The corridor led to a barely lit room. "Very inconsistent lighting..." The room was round and at the ceiling was a hole, ripped into it, likely by the earthquake that had uncovered the entrance to the temple in the first place. The light coming from the hole conveniently hit a pedestal in the middle of the room. The pedestal looked like it was put together hastily, it stuck out like a sore thumb in the room which otherwise looked like it had been built with the utmost care to perfection. Upon the pedestal, most curiously, lay a shovel.

"A shovel?" Aaron took a step back in confusion, "Why would..."

He shook his head and approached the pedestal, picking up the shovel and looking at it more closely in the light from above. He examined it and noticed that there was the same symbol on the blade of the shovel as on his wrist. He hummed in fascination upon finding this. The symbol on the blade of the shovel had a faint orange glow to it and an odd feeling surged through him as the mark on his wrist copied the glow. The feeling was something of power, not an intense, unmanageable force or power, but something small that could potentially be something huge. The feeling surged through him at intense speed, he was scarcely sure he even felt it. A thought came into his mind, a theory, and with a hum, he decided to test it out. Hercules had gone back to the corridor to retrieve a torch to look at the room better when Aaron approached the north wall of the room that hadn't any inscriptions on it and dug the shovel into the ground before it.

Suddenly, a violent orange light burst from the shovel and the stone wall, as well of the remains of the hill were pushed away with a violent fury, ripping through the forests around with a deafening roar, piling up stone and trees into one until Aaron pulled back the shovel from the ground and looked at it with a satisfied grin. The light from the gaping hole illuminated the rest of the room, revealing the inscriptions on the other walls, which he now noticed had pillars to separate them. Hercules came running back with a torch.

"What happened in here?!" he yelped. Aaron grinned sheepishly.

"I think I might have found another mystery," Aaron shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh dear..." Hercules sighed, "What happened?"

"I found a magic shovel? I guess? With the same spell engraved into it... And if those inscriptions say anything... it's not the only one..." Aaron said with soft wonder in his voice.

"You mean, not the only shovel?" Hercules asked, more as a joke and Aaron didn't answer it, taking it as such with a smile and a snort.

He approached the walls and read what was written on it, taking a few minutes to translate. His brows furrowed as he read, nodding here and there as Hercules watched him. Hercules watched the gears in Aaron's mind turn with a smile. The concentrated look on Aaron's face, brows tightly knit together, lips stuck in a contorted frown with him occasionally biting down on his lips and licking the spot right afterwards. Aaron hummed and Hercules raised a brow.

"Anything interesting?" he asked and Aaron nodded, his fingers brushing over the letters.

"Directions... They're directions to... to another temple..." Aaron muttered and Hercules' looked at him intrigued.

"To which temple? Does it say anything about that?" he asked and Aaron hummed in discontent.

"Technically yes, technically kinda confusing. This word here, Vuknoqunijna, it means volcano... Volcano temple doesn't make sense, a god of volcanoes? Nah, this one must be fire then... Earth temple, Fire temple..." he muttered and Hercules snorted.

"I wonder how many more temples there are... I wonder if they're all abandoned..." he thought out loud.

"Is there a god of fire?" Aaron asked and Hercules shook his head, "There you go."

"Fair point. Are there directions to any other temple?" he continued and Aaron shook his head.

"No, there aren't... I bet that if there are more temples like this, there will be more directions in the temple of fire!" Aaron grinned excitedly and Hercules rolled his eyes.

"Oh boy, I smell an adventure," Hercules snorted and Aaron laughed.

"Yeah, smells like it's a bit burned, though," he grinned and Hercules' smile fell and he stared at Aaron with a blank face.

"You didn't," he said plainly and Aaron burst into loud laughter, "You did."

"I shall deny all accusations!" Aaron exclaimed dramatically, then yelped as Hercules picked him up from the ground and spun him around much too quickly. Aaron laughed in delighted joy and clung to Hercules. Hercules let him drop to his feet and they both calmed from their laughter with happy sighs. A blush from his joyous laughter was placed on Aaron's cheeks as he still had his arms wrapped around Hercules' neck. Hercules' cheeks also took on a deep blush, but rather at how close Aaron was to him in that moment. A smile was spread on his lips as he looked at Aaron, though his face was blurred to him because of the cloak, with complete and utter awe. Something inside him compelled him, like the itch that drove him to fulfil his purpose, to lean forwards. This didn't go unnoticed by Aaron, who was still in his movements and waited. Hercules realised he might be making a mistake and stopped himself from what he had wanted to do and instead just put his forehead against Aaron's. Aaron almost snorted. "What're you doing?" he asked with a fond smile. Hercules froze, and he immediately pulled back.

"Oh, I'm- I... I'm sorry, I-" he stuttered and Aaron, with the fondest smile, pushed back some of his hood, just enough for Hercules to see his features unobscured.

"Just go for it, why don't you?" he said and pulled Hercules' head to him, gently placing their lips together. It was a moment of shock in which Hercules froze, but as soon as he realised just what was going on, what this meant, he broke out of his still spell and took full initiative, deepening the kiss as sparks seemed to burst and explode inside of him, a firework crashing, exploding in colour within his heart, his chest bursting with all he felt. Aaron felt weightless, light, free. Free of all burdens in his life, free of the heavy load his fate had bestowed upon him and cursed him with, free of all the worries and things he needed to take care of. He felt like he was falling. Like the day he had been freed from his prison and had asked Alexander to drop him, to let him fall. This felt just like that freefall, dangerous, terrifying, and so, so freeing. He was truly free, here, in Hercules embrace.

They pulled away for a moment, gazing into each other's eyes and finding love within them. Aaron smiled and put his head on Hercules' shoulder. He loved this moment. He closed his eyes and willed his fluttering heart to calm.

"D-does this... does this mean?" Hercules couldn't finish the thought but Aaron understood.

"It does," Aaron replied and Hercules couldn't remember a time where he had been happier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shalalalalala my oh my!  
> No their names don't fit into the song, darn it :/  
> I did not hit the four thousand words mark I set for myself. But I'm only 29 words away from that so... eh? Eh. (


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaron and Hercules are adorable

Aaron was happy, considering the circumstances. Twenty years ago he wouldn't have thought he'd find himself in this position; happy, despite all bad that had happened. He and Hercules had brought the shovel into the palace. Aaron had given Hercules permanent permission to enter through the tornado at any given time and had given him an enchanted amulet for it. He had made it himself in Alexander's crafting room, using two full blooms of singing paradise flowers and spun woolmilkpig's wool for the metal and the necklace of the amulet, infused with an entrance spell combined with a barrier passing spell and one of Aaron's hairs, the latter because the combined spells infused in the amulet would only let him pass through the tornado if something that resided within the palace was also infused within the amulet. He trusted Hercules, he trusted him with his happiness, with his life, with his everything. He had no reason not to trust him, really.

They were both back in the palace. Aaron just created a room for the shovel, and perhaps anything else that might relate to it. He managed to secure the room in the west hall with a red chain wrapped around it, because he wasn't sure exactly how dangerous this or relating artefacts might be alone, or combined, making sure that no one knew how to get them once in this room. The chains only responded to him and Alexander, only opening upon them knocking on them. It was a spell Alexander had once put upon them, he had told Aaron, as another security measure should the barrier spell - Alexander couldn't quite explain its complexity - ever be broken by anyone and the storm crossed, being an easier barrier to pass than the tornado. If any god or otherwise divine creature had the ability to get inside his palace, as a security measure, all doors would disappear into the centre and northern hall and immediately acquire black chains, the stairs to his crafting room would disappear and reverse - an abstract occurrence as it would result in the stairs being inverted and leading to odd places all over the realm below - as well as all the books in his library drop all words in a mess onto the ground, useless and an unreadable mess, and his gardens would be engulfed in a thick, poison and acid fog, not harming the plants themselves, but any creature not supposed to be there. The woolmilkpigs would be protected by the black chains, but would also defend themselves at a moments notice. The palace would immediately turn into a death trap. The halls alone would increase in their odd traits, showcasing them stronger and in a more deadly way. The northern hall would only have acid rain and below freezing temperatures, and immediately switch to boiling hot temperatures in a second. The east hall would change its form in such a drastic way that it would be about impossible to enter, or not to be crushed once within. The west hall would be in constant, rapid whirling movement, changing its gravity so intensely that you would be crushed by the fall within. The centre hall would unleash all curses written into its walls upon anyone entering, causing such fun changes as: turning you into a cockroach and giving everyone around you the irresistible desire and urge to crush you beneath their feet; turning your body inside out and unleashing the flesh-eating ants upon you; having you drown in glass shards or sand, or blood; or forcing upon you a curse that makes you desire to kill anyone within the room, and if there was no one, yourself, among other fun curses. Even the main hall, the only consistent hall in the palace, would turn into a deathtrap. Gravity would be increased in the room to such a degree that it would make it impossible to move, allowing for any of the most lethal creatures within the hall, in this case a giant snail producing a sort of acid that would eat you, taking many cruel hours to eat your whole body as the acid burned each and every cell within your body.

The palace was, therefore, fairly well protected, Aaron noted, even if any god or divine creature had the ability to cross the barrier. As word would get around, those that tried would figure it isn't worth it. As Aaron thought intently about this, his mind drifted to Hercules quite suddenly, wondering where he was. He pulled out his map and looked through it, checking the halls and gardens and eventually finding him in the library. With a happy hum he decided to join him there and made his way through a black door he willed into existence to lead him exactly where Hercules was in the library. Hercules jumped with a startled yelp as a door opened behind him that hadn't been there before. He sighed in relief as he saw it was only Aaron and he playfully glared at him. Aaron snorted and noted the book Hercules was holding. It was a collection of short stories.

"You startled me, you know!" Hercules said and Aaron rolled his eyes with a smile and went over to Hercules to hug him.

"I didn't mean to! Oh, whatcha reading?" he asked and Hercules looked down at the opened book in his hands. It was a small collection of short stories and he was somewhere in the middle of the book.

"Um... this story's called 'The Stupid Die Here'..." he replied and Aaron hummed intrigued, sitting down on a table near Hercules.

"Sounds interesting. Will you read it out loud?" he asked and Hercules, after raising a brow and a bit of a sigh, though not meant with real exasperation, sat down next to Aaron and began reading the short story.

_A Spider sat in its web, waiting. To its right, it felt the vibrations of another victim in its web and hurried there. The Spider grinned as it saw the Fly in its web. However, its grin soon disappeared as it saw how little and weakly the Fly 'struggled' if you could even call it that. As the Fly spotted the Spider, the Spider could see relief in its eyes.  
"Ah, finally. You're finally here. Please, let's get this over with..." the Fly pleaded.  
The Spider was confused, "You WANT to die? That's why you sit here in my web?" it asked._

_"Yes. Yes, please," the Fly replied and the Spider shook its head._

_"If you WANT to die, this is the wrong place for you. The stupid die here. The stupid that don't notice how they're flying into my web until it's too late. You, however, saw, knew and understood that I'm here and that I'm dangerous. You aren't stupid," the Spider spoke and the Fly sighed._

_"Then I ask you to spin a rope for me, so I may hang myself," the Fly asked._

_"I'm not going to help you to die," the Spider explained._

_"How cruel are you, not to let me have this release?" the Fly accused. The Spider came closer and began freeing the Fly from its web._

_"The stupid die here. You're not stupid," the Spider explained again. The Fly's gaze dropped to the ground sullenly._

_"Yes, I am," it said._

_"Well, who says that?" the Spider asked._

_"Everyone..." the Fly replied._

_"Does that make me a_ nobody _?" the Spider laughed and played offended._

_"No..." the Fly admitted._

_"Well, then not everyone says that you're dumb," the Spider said and freed now also the last leg that had been stuck in its web. For a moment, they were both silent. The Fly sat in the Spider's arms as to not get stuck in its web again._

_"May I come back tomorrow?" the Fly asked quietly._

_"To die?" the Spider asked._

_"To... No..." the Fly replied._

_"Come back. Every day, if you want to. As long as you don't come to die."_

Aaron stared at Hercules with a smile.

"That was cute," he noted as Hercules finished reading.

"A bit odd, I think," Hercules admitted.

"Hm? What do you mean? What's odd about it?" Aaron asked.

"It's just weird. Like, the spider didn't just jump on the opportunity for an easy meal and... befriended the fly?" Hercules shook his head.

"Obvious metaphor, though. You of all people should see it!" Aaron laughed and Hercules' odd look asked him to explain. "Okay, see. Spider and a fly, natural enemies. In the end, they befriend each other through odd circumstances, those being a fly willingly flying into a spider's web because it was for some reason ostracised by its own kind. It's obvious, really. You see how the spider notices that something is wrong and gets the fly to tell it what is wrong. The answer is, obviously, simplified, but still stands strong, though in direct conflict with the spider's words that only the stupid die in its web." Aaron explained, pointing to the lines.

"Okay, but what's the point here?" Hercules asked.

"It's easy. It's a metaphor for finding help in places where you might not have expected it. When everyone else has abandoned you, a very unlikely place could be the one that understands or even only listens. See? The spider, at the end, lets the fly come back, as long as it doesn't come back to die, showing that it is willing to help and, in the end, this implies that the fly will not kill itself through something as long as it comes back to the Spider," Aaron explained and Hercules hummed, a brow raised, intrigued.

"Ohhhh, I see! Huh! How come I didn't see that?" he wondered and Aaron smiled and put his head on Hercules' shoulder.

"Perhaps it's easier to see these things if you relate to them," Aaron shrugged.

"I suppose. I mean, if one relates to what is said in a story one would see it faster than one who doesn't..." Hercules nodded.

They had a comfortable moment of silence with each other. Hercules flipped the page to another short story, pushing the book between him and Aaron and they read for a while. Aaron could relate to most of the short stories as they often showcased a feeling of not belonging, being overlooked and an abstract sense of reality. Hercules found them odd most of the time. He wasn't able to relate to the stories and he could only take them at face value, which he didn't like because he knew for a fact they had a deeper meaning and he didn't like how he, the muse of poetry, could barely get a glance into that deeper meaning. Like a black depth which to him, was only a void, empty with the vague idea of something being there, but it not revealing itself. In the end, he didn't understand most of the short stories and could only barely enjoy them. He silently wondered, as he stopped reading entirely at some point, how Aaron had such an easy time identifying a meaning where he could find none. Aaron could relate, he had said, but it made Hercules wonder, as he thought about the general themes of the stories, why he was able to relate to them. He feared that there was an entirely foreign side to Aaron that he hadn't yet had the chance to explore, but he also wasn't sure if he would ever get the chance to unless Aaron openly shared this information which, again, Hercules wasn't sure how to ask about or if he even should ask about them. At some point, Aaron had read all short stories, enjoying them quite a bit. He picked up the book from Hercules' hand and put it into one of the pockets of his cloak that he somehow never ran out of. More peculiar was the fact that he only had to reach into one of its pockets to retrieve the exact thing he needed. Perhaps it wasn't as peculiar, he mused, or not as peculiar as his life had become.

He wasn't, in fact, the only one musing about his life. By coincidence, James was as well, even at that exact moment. James was reading through the letters Alexander had never sent him. He read each line, each word, with breathless anticipation for the next, with trembling fingers clutching at the pages for dear life, and a red face struck with such awe at every phrase before him. His cheeks burned at the exclamations of love, at the praises, the compliments, the pledging of eternal loyalty and love. His heart was aflame, burning with passion as it devoured each line to just grow taller, stronger, overwhelming him. His eyes hungrily ate up the contents of each page of each letter, admiring the careful crafting and construction of each sentence, placed in such a careful order to invoke the desired effect within its reader to perfection.

James sighed, his heart no longer heavy now that he had admitted to himself that he was once again, or perhaps he never wasn't, in love. His heart was light, no mountain lay upon it to crush it under its weight any more, and he found this feeling was incredible. It surged through him and lingered with a tingling sensation within him, up his arms and down his spine, it tingled, like the soft tone of a big bell as it vibrated through him, pleasantly buzzing. As he read through the letters, feeding the flame in his heart, he imagined, fantasized about how it would have ended if he had finished reading the letters earlier and if he could have had replied earlier. He wondered how he would have reacted then when Alexander would have died. Perhaps he would have had reacted differently, perhaps Alexander would have been able to convince him that him being dead would make no difference in their relationship if James wouldn't let it. Perhaps James would have listened. He wondered what would have happened had Thomas just brought him the letters earlier than he had. He wondered what would have happened had Alexander just actually sent even just one of the letters. They could have had something, instead of this mutual pining, these thoughts that the other would not feel like they did for them. Then he wondered what might have happened had Thomas not somehow acquired those letters and had brought them to him. He would have never known how Alexander had felt for him, he would have never known how Alexander had returned his feelings, how it had been mutual pining between them. He sighed, both happiness and a resigned sadness sounding in it. Alexander no longer felt the same for him while he, he realised, might have never really stopped feeling this way. He realised he would not have a chance to fix it all in a way where he and Alexander would be together, he just couldn't see it. He only hoped that Alexander could forgive him or acknowledge that he was willing to fix things, even if it was impossible to do so. This determination hadn't left him, even though so many years had passed since that peculiar mortal had instilled this determination and newfound hope within his heart. The will to be better, the will to fix what he had done. He was grateful for the mortal, grateful that he had met him on that day when he had been at his absolute worst.

Had he not met that mortal, he would not be where he was today, back on his feet with the will to make things better. Not only better for him, but for everyone. He had become social again with the other gods, attended festivals and celebrations and bonded with the other gods. He looked much healthier, his hair no longer the rats nest it had been, his clothes fixed, his body lacking bruises, his mind well rested and his heart at ease, fluttering with love.

He read the letters through and through, admiring, appreciating them, falling more and more in love with Alexander after every line, remembering all the reasons why he had fallen in love with him, why his heart hadn't been able to move on for all these centuries. He lay down on his back, his fantasies engulfing him, feeding him sensations he craved, sounds he needed and tastes and images he couldn't resist. Fuelled by temptation, his fantasies grew more vivid, as though he really felt a hand brushing over his hair and another stroking his cheek and a pair of lips gently placing themselves over his. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling with a love-struck gaze. A hot blush was drawn over his cheeks and a goofy grin giggled on his lips. He swooned with a sigh at his fantasies.

Then, a thought crossed his wandering path. He turned his head to the side, gazing upon the desk upon which lay still his unfinished letter. A frown crossed his lips as he thought, what a shame that he had never finished it. He hummed, thinking. He knew Alexander would likely never read it, his interrupted attempt. Yet, he found it a pity that he had never finished and sent it. Even if it had only been sent with the knowledge it wouldn't have been read, he should have done it, for the sake of having done it and having nothing to regret. He hummed again, in thought. Then, he sat up, gaining a better view of the half-written letter from the bed. He was thinking. Eventually, after a long gaze and his heart urging him forwards, he got up from the bed and approached the paper on the desk, sitting down on the chair in front of it.

He stared at the paper before him. It was half filled, and the last word wasn't finished but was a line that dragged through the rest of the page. Somehow, he was sure he felt a sensation much like the pain he had felt on that very day. It made his lip quiver, his heartache and his stomach tighten into a knot. That singly crooked line dragged down the page held so much pain inside it, a sudden, overwhelming pain. He didn't dare, for a reason he couldn't comprehend, to take a new page. He felt compelled, by a force and a flutter in his heart, to not begin anew, but to finish this letter as he had begun it. A gulp and a trembling hand gently picking up the quill, and he began where he had left off those three and a quarter centuries ago. His penmanship had changed, as well as his writing style. It had a weight in it, clearly having been impacted by his period of depression. Still, he wrote with all his heart, putting it on every cursive letter, laying it out onto the entire page, no, he wrote page after page, 22 of them, full of his heart, his being, his love. All he had to give, every sensation, every fantasy, every feeling, combined into one to convey his pain, his lust, his desire, his need, his love, all of him. He displayed it so openly, so raw and pure, it could not have been mistaken for anything else but his love on display in the most honest fashion conceivable.

It took him an hour to complete it, to fill each and every page before him with all he could pour into it from his heart, filling them to the brim and overflowing with all of this raw emotion of pain and love. His fingers trembled as he lay down the quill upon the desk next to the letter. His fingers brushed over the papers, along its sides. His lips quivered, his cheeks were glowing red. He let a soft smile play on his lips as he picked up the pile of papers. He summoned an envelope and, with a spell to make them fit, put the papers inside and sealed it off, writing Alexander's name onto it. He whistled loudly, summoning his carrier, a small, grey imp with a jagged tail whipping back and forth and yellow spots on its fur. He handed it the envelope and the imp curiously sniffed at it, then looked up at him in confusion.

"To his palace," James answered the imp's silent question and the imp whimpered, having memories of the last time it had had to cross the tornado ad storm, "He won't be there, I know. I want you to deliver it to whoever is inside, but do not let them open it."

The imp, its name Orsino, nodded and grabbed the envelope with its small, clawed hands, stuffing it down its mouth, storing it in the pocket in its stomach. It scrambled away from James and outside of the room, out of James' sight, scratching at reality and ripping a hole into it, jumping inside. Outside of reality, it scrambled forwards and jumped backwards whirling in a spiral to the right and contorting into the left. Outside reality formed, exploded, contorted and twirled around Orsino with a spray of all colours, and then none and just static. It scurried along, finding the hotspot. Hundreds of imps scurried along with messages, some only barely avoiding a collision and others having crashed into each other. Orsino scurried through the crowd to its destination, which was across the other side up down. It scratched at the walls to reality and scratched them open, revealing on the other side the tornado. With a gurgled grumble it jumped through the loop of outside back into reality, landing on a cloud. It shook and ruffled its fur, it was always an odd experience to hurry through the outside of reality, which is located within reality. To the imps, the carriers, it made sense, they came from that outside and lived there most of the time if their master didn't need them. To anyone else, it would likely have caused severe headaches from the sheer abstract absurdity of it.

Orsino scratched behind its ears, getting caught in one of the holes in its ears and whining as it ripped its foot free, shaking its head violently. It braced itself, and then ran at and jumped at the tornado just a few yards away from it, scratching a hole into reality directly into the tornado and scurrying through. Inside the outside of reality of the tornado, it was windy, a strong wind forcing Orsino to claw into the non-existent ground and claw itself forward as it had done so many times before. Alexander's tornado, and the storm beyond it had always been a bit of a nuisance to Orsino, as the crossing of the spells within it were entirely too difficult. It was nigh impossible, and Orsino knew only a few carriers that could get through it on their own, remembering that it had had to help many of them. Of course, not Alexander's carrier. That little trickster had never had a problem with passing the spells and barriers. But it had often helped, provided it had been present in the palace, other carriers to get inside. Orsino shook its head and carried onwards, it didn't want to think about what had happened to Alexander's carrier. It pushed through the barrier, finally! and hurried through the storm afterwards before scratching back into reality once it reached the palace, hushing inside of it, sniffing at the air to try and find any occupants inside. The scents it perceived led it into the library, where it found Aaron sitting on Hercules' lap on a comfortable looking couch, Aaron holding a book and reading out loud or explaining something to Hercules. Orsino scurried over to them, causing Aaron to yelp and consequently startle Hercules. Orsino jumped onto Aaron's lap and gave its stomach a pat, opening its mouth. A yellow glow emerged from it and manifested into the envelope, which Aaron reluctantly took.

"Hercules, whose is this?" Aaron asked and Hercules looked at the carrier in confusion.

"It's James'," he replied and Orsino stared at Hercules oddly.

Aaron looked at the envelope, his eyes slightly widening as he read what was written on it. He looked between Orsino and the envelope repeatedly. He made a move to open it, but Orsino hissed loudly, startling Aaron to stop. Aaron nodded understanding.

"Only for Alexander, I see... Don't worry, I'll keep it here and give it to Alexander once he's found," Aaron smiled and Orsino let out a happy sound that sounded much like snickering and an odd crunch. Aaron chuckled at it and got up from Hercules' lap, conjuring up a black door and stepping inside, coming out just a few seconds later a wrapping red chains around the door, letting it disappear into another hall. The imp squeaked and jumped, scurrying off and away when Aaron came back. Orsino had been in the palace often enough to know its way around well enough or at least the way to the gardens. It slipped into the stone garden, scurrying around onto the pebbles, without disturbing their placement or leaving a single print in them. Somewhere in the middle of the stone garden was placed a simple big rock. There was no gold nor jewels on it, and it wasn't a meteor. It was the only rock in the stone garden that was just a simple rock. Orsino touched it and brushed along the side of it, something akin to a scowl on its mouth. With a whimper in climbed it and lay down on it, nose searching for the familiar scent of a long dead companion. It found that only a whiff of the familiar scent was left there. Orsino hid its face into the rock with a whimper, quietly remembering the day Alexander's carrier, a carrier Orsino had been close to, had died. It kept whimpering, burying its face more into the rock below, scratching at it, knowing that its dead friend was buried below it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor carrier...


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The realm of gods tends a selfish trait to bloom

Aaron and Hercules travelled to the realm below again, back to the earth temple, to follow the directions given to what Aaron assumed should be the fire temple. They slipped back into the temple and into the room in which they had found the shovel as well as the directions. Aaron had brought paper and pen to write down the directions, accidentally writing them down in Qjuanjoithian and Hercules asking him to write it in their modern language so that he may be able to read it as well. Aaron laughed sheepishly at that, still accidentally writing some parts in Qjuanjoithian that he wasn't sure how else to translate for himself without losing the meaning, the meaning of the directions depended greatly on the time, whether it was given in the different tenses of past, present, future, and some odd combination of present and future which was used to fluidly transition from a present action or circumstance into a future one. There were many more peculiarities about the language, as there were seven different tenses of past, five different tenses of present (including the odd combination of present and future tense), and a whole twelve different future tenses, the twelfth tense being used to describe impossible or incomprehensible future and thoughts concerning this future. Aaron shook his head, scribbling the last bit of needed directions onto the paper.

Hercules looked over his shoulder, raising a brow at some of the symbols replacing whole sentences of the directions which Aaron didn't know how to translate into their language. Aaron squinted. He spoke three languages now, he realized. Markon, his native tongue, Elsyae, the most popular language and Qjuanjoith, a dead language. He hummed, realising he could barely tell the difference between them at any given moment. He turned to Hercules with a quizzical expression.

"Did you ever notice me _suddenly speaking in a different_ language?" he asked and Hercules raised a brow.

"All the time, just now you did," Hercules pointed out and Aaron's brows raised in surprise.

"Why did you never _point_ it out to me?" he asked.

"Well, I barely notice it myself, I know those languages, and I understand what you mean whenever you slip from Markon into Elsyae or vice versa. If you were to slip this dead language into it, it would be a problem for me, but otherwise I understand," Hercules explained and Aaron hummed.

" **I do hope I won't** slip into it and- I just did, didn't I?" he asked and Hercules nodded, causing Aaron to sigh in defeat, "I knew this _would happen at some point_..."

Hercules chuckled and laughed, kissing Aaron's head and Aaron grumbled, frustrated.

"I'll tell you if you slip into the dead one, don't worry. Now, you got the directions?" he asked and pulled Aaron to himself in half a hug. Aaron looked down at the paper in his hand.

"Yup, _I got it_. We can go now. Do you know a place called 'Spiralling Canon'?" Aaron asked and Hercules nodded.

"Yeah, it's near the place where I first popped into existence. I think... I think it might be abandoned. though..." Hercules muttered and Aaron hummed.

"This says we need to follow the river crossing through it upstream until we find its spring... Then cross around the 'mountain' we find there and... 'enter' it..." Aaron explained.

"'Enter' it? What's that supposed to mean? Why did you say mountain like that?" Hercules asked and Aaron sighed.

"This word here means mountain and something like a volcano, and this word, while it means to enter, it means that in a... in a way that implies forcing your way in through uh... Um..." Aaron tried but words failed him.

"You don't know how to translate it," Hercules stated and Aaron nodded.

"I know what it means but _I couldn't explain it if I tried_ ," Aaron sighed.

"That's okay, as long as you know the way in, I'll follow," Hercules smiled and Aaron grinned back up at him, gently pulling away from Hercules' hug but taking his hand into his own, gently pulling to out of the temple. Outside he asked Hercules to point him in the direction of 'Spiralling Canon' and to meet there in a bit. Hercules did as asked and teleported away as Aaron took flight into the direction.

He watched the landscape change below him the farther he flew, from the crumbling rock of what was left of 'Crumbling Hill' to the rich forests all around it, then suddenly changing into a desert that went on for miles. His gaze wandered over the ground as he moved his feet like he was ice skating to propel himself forwards faster. Flying with the wings on his sandals was very much like ice skating, he had found. He had only ever had the opportunity to try it once when he was eleven and had snuck out during winter and had borrowed a dead person's blades to strap to his shoes. He had found the blades on that dead person a day before, the person had died of blood-loss, something had attacked them and had ripped out their throat. Aaron had, strangely enough, not really cared about the gruesome sight, or perhaps his eleven-year-old mind had not paid attention to it, even though death and how gruesome it could be had not been a foreign concept to him even at that age. He remembered the day he had tried ice skating for the first, and last time. It had been fun! Even though he had fallen flat on his face a number of times trying to keep his balance. He had eventually figured out how to move properly on them, though his stance was still awkward and his movements thus clunky and clumsy. His grandmother had been very angry with him and had taken away the blades and had forced him, the next day, to go and trade them for something more useful. Aaron shrugged, he had been bitter about it at the time, but he understood eventually how the blades weren't useful for much and his amusement didn't count in the matter.

The desert landscape soon transformed into patches of meadows, transforming into patches of forests and woods and flew closer to the ground, looking for Hercules or the river.  
It didn't take him too long to find both of them, Hercules sitting idly by the river, humming some tune Aaron didn't recognize as he sneaked up behind Hercules. Aaron grinned as he crept closer behind him. Suddenly, he pushed Hercules into the river, who yelped as he fell, followed by a loud splash when he hit the water. His head popped out of the water as he quickly glanced around until his eyes landed on Aaron, who was lying on his back, in mid-air, laughing and clutching his stomach. Hercules felt a smile force itself onto his lips at Aaron's contagious laughter. Hercules found himself laughing along soon as he kept himself afloat and near Aaron. He swam to the side of the river and climbed out of it.

"Very funny, Aaron," Hercules almost playfully scolded and Aaron grinned.

"I couldn't resist," Aaron smirked, landing before Hercules and kissing his wet cheek, "You look good, all soaked in water."

A small blush crept onto Hercules' cheeks and he smiled devilishly. Before Aaron could question the look he was given Hercules embraced him in a big, inescapable, wet hug. Aaron yelped and tried to wiggle free, but Hercules' grip on him was too tight to escape.

"Hercules, let go of me!" Aaron yelped, though a grin was on his lips. Hercules let go after twirling Aaron around in a circle, with Aaron squealing delightedly. Finally, Hercules let go of him, kissing his forehead and grinning. "You goof," Aaron commented with a smirk.

"You asked for it," Hercules replied and Aaron shook his head, smirk not leaving his lips.

"Let's go. We have to follow the river upstream," Aaron repeated the directions and together they began walking, wanting to take it slow for some reason, Aaron wasn't entirely sure. The scenery was nice. It was calm, the birds were chirping loudly in a quaint little melody, and the sun was shining brighter than usual. Aaron's thoughts drifted to Thomas for a moment at that last noticing and he frowned at it. He didn't trust Thomas, he had been lying and Aaron had been avoiding him for twenty-five years. It was a long time, he was fifty-two now, but he still felt like he was just twenty-seven, looked like it too. Time had been kind to him, mainly because of Nae's kiss, and he wasn't sure whether he was grateful for that or not. He wondered for a moment, this moment seeming like an eternity to him, how this would go after the three hundred years had passed. He would begin ageing again. He was sure Hercules would continue to love him, no matter hat. Aaron trusted him. He trusted that he would. He was just a bit concerned about what would happen afterwards. After he would die. He was sure Hercules would try to persuade him to stay in the gods' realm, or find another way to stay immortal, like Nae, but Aaron knew, and felt it too, that that wasn't how it was supposed to go. He just hoped Hercules wouldn't fall into a depression because of it. He hoped that Hercules would mourn him healthily.

"Aaron?" Hercules interrupted his train of thought and Aaron looked up at him, puzzled, "You're... I know the face you're making... What's on your mind?" he asked and Aaron kept quiet for a moment, turning his gaze downwards.

"You'll worry," Aaron stated.

"Don't I always?" Hercules returned and Aaron looked up at him. Hercules smiled down reassuringly. Aaron found himself smiling in return and lean onto Hercules' shoulder. He trusted him, with all of his mind and all of his body and all of his heart.

"I was thinking about after I die," he said and Hercules noticeably flinched, "I once made you promise to look after Alexander when I die. To make him happy and only let him be sad to mourn me. I want the same for you. I want you to be happy after I die. Mourn me, but not forever. I couldn't bear the thought of you falling into depression just because I died."

"I... I don't know if I can promise that..." Hercules admitted, not as surprised with Aaron's statement as he should be. Perhaps he was used to them by now.

"I don't want you to promise it. I want you to try your best, though. Can you try for me?" Aaron asked and Hercules kissed his head.

"Of course," he replied and Aaron smiled, relieved.

They picked up the pace a bit after that, seeing as the sun was already close to setting, perhaps in an hour or so. The river next to them became more violent and began steaming. Aaron raised a brow, curious, and wondered why that was.

 

Alexander didn't know for how long he had been here, stuck in the vial, stuck in this prison. The Judge refused to tell him how much time had passed. His lip quivered as a pain overtook him, his chest. His breathing was shallow, laboured, sharp, like cutting knifes into his lungs as everything began to hurt. His body began convulsing violently, a stabbing pain running through his veins.

After a while, everything suddenly stopped. He was able to really breathe again, his lungs drinking in the air greedily. His heart was still hammering against his chest from the inside, he felt like it would burst any second. He wished he could see. He wished he could see what had disappeared. He knew a lot from his body had vanished in the time he had been in the vial. Not everything, yet. But he knew it wouldn't be long until it would. He leaned against the wall and caught his breath. The Judge picked up the necklace from the nightstand and put it on. Alexander wasn't quick enough to revert into the false... carefreeness. The Judge only heard him trying to catch his breath.

"Wind? Are you alright?" the Judge asked and Alexander shook his head.

"Nothing is wrong," he simply replied. The Judge frowned, he didn't believe Alexander, but he wasn't sure whether he should interrogate him about it further. He nodded, deciding to ignore it and he went on about his day. He had been curious about one of the gods, James, who had been through many emotional changes, it seemed. At least, something was odd about it, so he had been told. He called for his carrier, its name Sycorax. Sycorax had pitch-black fur, kept orderly and flat, like its tail. Were one to take a closer look at its shoulders one would notice the wings that were attached to them lying flat against its back. A permanent grin was glued onto its mouth as it hurried to the Judge. It chirped gurgledly and the Judge regarded it for a moment with an odd look, before he summoned pen and paper and wrote a short letter, then handing it to Sycorax.

"To James. Escort him back here as soon as he's read it, understood?" the Judge asked and Sycorax cackled and grabbed the letter, unceremoniously stuffing it down its throat into the pocket in its stomach. A low grumble came from it as the Judge turned to leave the room. Sycorax disliked its master. The Judge cared little for the carrier, giving nothing as thanks, not even in words. Sycorax knew that the gods didn't understand their language, and those that had were dead. It envied the god of Death's carrier. He understood their language, he treated his carrier well. What Sycorax wouldn't give to be the carrier of a god like him. Sycorax shook its body and scurried out of the palace, hurrying to James' palace.

It found the god sitting in a room, surrounded by opened letters, reading them with a lovestruck expression. Sycorax slowly crawled inside, much to the surprise of James. James jumped when he saw the carrier, letting out a small yelp. James looked at Sycorax, confusion slowly creeping onto his features as his eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed together, a frown developing on his lips. Sycorax patted its stomach and opened its mouth, the Judge's letter manifesting in a bright glow, which it handed to James. James slowly took it, muttering a thanks, which surprised Sycorax. James read the letter quickly, the look of confusion on his face becoming more pronounced as he became more confused. He looked at the carrier again and Sycorax chirped.

"What does _he_ want from me?" James wondered aloud, perhaps it was even addressed to Sycorax, but it only chirped again and James finally stood up. "Alright, little guy, let's find out what he wants, hm?" James sighed and followed Sycorax out and to the Judge's palace. The way wasn't terribly long.

Once inside, Sycorax led James to the hearing room, as Sycorax liked to call it. The hearing room was the place where the Judge waited for his visitors, unless his visitors were complaining gods. Sycorax realised that this room hadn't been used in over a century. Whether this said anything about the Judge or the gods would be up for debate, though Sycorax thought it would be both. James seemed nervous and Sycorax pitied him. The Judge didn't seem pleased, whatsoever. Sycorax carefully wrapped its tail around James' left leg in an attempt at comfort. James looked down at Sycorax, and his worried frown turned into an appreciative smile. He reached down and petted Sycorax head.

"Thanks," he whispered and Sycorax chirped, letting go of James' leg. James took in a deep breath and opened the doors to the hearing room. The Judge sat on a comfortable armchair, a small table in front of him and another armchair opposite to him. James gulped and approached him, sitting down in the other armchair, keeping his hands in his lap.

"You... had me summoned?" James began and the Judge nodded. James' look travelled to the necklace around the Judge's neck and he gulped, dread and guilt flooding his stomach and he forced his gaze upwards.

"You needn't be so nervous, I have merely a few questions I'd like an answer to," the Judge simply said and James really disliked the way the Judge had said that.

Alexander, within the vial, was surprised to hear James' voice. He wasn't sure why, but he felt something like relief overcoming him. But he noticed something off about James. James' voice was heavy with experience of something horrible and dreadful. Alexander wasn't sure, but somehow James' voice made him feel pity for him.

"Well... ask..." James simply replied, pressing his hands tightly into his lap. Alexander's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"It has only come to my attention recently, though it happened some time ago, I hear. Some gods had come complaining about something concerning you, bordering on worry. I was told that, about twenty-five years ago, you were found in a very anti-social phase," the Judge stated and Alexander frowned. The wording felt off. It also felt off to James. "Then it suddenly seemed to change."

"Anti-social phase is... not what I'd call it..." James muttered and Alexander raised a brow, intrigued.

"That's what I've been told. I wasn't there to witness it myself, after all," the Judge said dismissively. James frowned.

"Well, no one was..." he mumbled. Alexander heard the Judge's voice, though knowing he wasn't speaking out loud.

"What do you think of this, Wind?" the Judge asked him and Alexander looked in his direction confused.

"What am I supposed to think about this? I don't know anything about it," Alexander stated and the Judge hummed.

"What do you mean by that?" the Judge asked James. James shifted uncomfortably.

"I meant nothing, sir..." James replied quietly. The Judge frowned and hummed, lifting his hand. James' eyes widened in fear and he abruptly stood up, an attempt to escape, but the sudden bright glow from the Judge's hand left him paralyzed. He blinked and sat back down with quivering lips.

"What did you mean by that?" the Judge asked again, too calmly and James struggled not to answer, trying to keep his mouth shut. He failed.

"No one was there to witness my depression. No one worried, no one cared," he droned, under the Judge's spell. Alexander winced back and shuddered. The Judge's truth spell was a horrible thing to be under. He had been under it once and the experience had been awful. He didn't envy James. Alexander listened on, interested and intrigued, though he was disgusted by the Judge's method of getting the information he wanted, although James clearly didn't want to share it with him. He shouldn't be forced, Alexander thought, but he knew he wouldn't be able to anything against it, much less convince the Judge to stop it. He was intrigued by what James said about a depression.

"Depression? What made you depressed?" the Judge asked and James tensed up, his hands in his lap balling into fists.

"Mistakes I made, repression of emotions, the resulting self-loathing," James listed and Alexander glared confused. Self-loathing? He hadn't thought James would fall into something like that.

"And what made you get out of this depressive phase?" the Judge asked.

"I'm still in it," James said, "I'm not out of my depression. I have become better at dealing with it, fixing things, making things better..."

"And how come you are able to do that?" the Judge asked, brow raised.

"I attempted to kill myself again," James said and Alexander flinched back at those words, his eyes wide while the Judge remained calm, "I threw myself from the moon onto the realm below. My attempt was unsuccessful yet again. A mortal found me and convinced me to tell him what was wrong. I did. He played his bell lyre for me and my spirits were lifted somewhat, as I realised many things at once. The mortal helped me gain a new determination to fix what I had done wrong. He had given me a new hope."

The Judge looked unimpressed. Alexander hung onto every word out of James' mouth.

"Who is this mortal?" the Judge asked.

"I don't believe I know him," James replied. The Judge grew impatient.

"What's his name? Where can I find him?" the Judge asked impatiently.

"His name is Aaron," Alexander perked up as he heard the name, "I couldn't recognize his face. I don't know where he is."

The Judge finally let his hand drop and the bright glow vanished from it, freeing James from the spell. James gasped and stared at the Judge with wide-blown, horror-stricken eyes. He began trembling horribly and tightly put a hand over his mouth as he stared at the ground.

"Wh-why d-did y-you d-do t-that?!" he stuttered horribly, voice loud. Alexander found in himself the urge to comfort him.

"I want you to find this mortal," the Judge stated simply, ignoring James' question, "And bring him to me."

"Wh-why?!" James exclaimed and the Judge growled, angry at being questioned.

"I have strong suspicions that the mortal who you met is the same mortal whom the Wind had brought into our realm. I want to have a little... _chat_ with him..." the Judge replied and James' eyes widened.

"N-no! I know e-exactly wh-what you want with him!" James refused and the Judge growled, "You've punished A- the Wind already, there is no need for you to punish the mortal as well!" The Judge slowly stood up from his seat, towering over James intimidatingly. James' glare was unwavering. He viewed this as one of his mistakes, which he needed to fix. The Judge downright growled.

"You do know who you're talking to?" the Judge growled down at him but James kept his glare fixed.

"I'm well aware, _Judge_ ," James spat the title, "If you want him dead so much, look for him yourself." And with that he turned on his heels and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him, leaving the Judge alone in the room, seething with anger. Finally, Alexander piped up.

"He's not wrong you know..." Alexander started, "Aaron had nothing to do with anything. He was worshipped for his beauty by his people, something he couldn't control. He didn't want to be worshipped. I brought him into our realm, he just wanted to be somewhere safe where he could stay to wait it out until he could repay the favour. If he's really down there, no, if he wanted to be a threat he would have revealed himself to someone and have been worshipped by then and trust me, you'd notice."

"Be quiet," the Judge spat, seething with anger.

"I get it, you're angry. This is the first time someone has ever disobeyed you. Honestly, it's kinda surprising that it is, but you have to learn how to cope with that. Not everyone is going to be on your side for ever. Heck, no one is going to be on your side for ever. He's not wrong either, and whatever petty grudge you have against Aaron, just drop it. Take it from me, petty grudges get you nowhere," Alexander tried to reason with the Judge. The Judge, however, did not respond. Alexander wanted to try again, but suddenly, and with no warning at all, the Judge grabbed the vial, and violently pulled off the necklace, cutting the connection that made Alexander able to communicate with him.

"Be quiet!" the Judge yelled and Alexander flinched back, his back and head hitting the glass wall painfully. Washington called for his carrier and handed it the necklace with the order to put it into the basement, anywhere, and Sycorax hurried to fulfil the order.

"I... I guess he was sick of my voice after all..." Alexander muttered. Sycorax, knowing what was inside of the vial, placed it near the only source of light, so at least he might be warm. Sycorax gave a pitying chirp, and the vial one last pat, and disappeared, appearing by Orsino, knowing that it was one of those days each month it took to grieve Alexander's carrier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he's never been disobeyed, he wouldn't know how to deal with it so suddenly.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright. This chapter, again, warrants trigger warnings. Since I can't tag responsibly while avoiding spoiling, I shall tell you the tw's/cw's now but you may decide whether you want to read them and be (slightly) spoiled (for one small-ish part of the chapter) or move on without them. The tw's/cw's shall be stated now: extreme self-harm, character putting themselves through so much pain they fall unconscious, signs of madness. 
> 
> Trigger warning done!  
> I hope you'll enjoy it regardless!

Aaron and Hercules finally came upon their destination. It was indeed a volcano, and it was huge. Aaron stared up in awe, while Hercules had apparently seen it often enough for this sight not to impress him. Hercules looked around.

"What now?" he asked, "I've never seen a temple here."

Aaron gave a sharp look around and approached the foot of the volcano. He found a number of rocks placed oddly. They were placed to make a perfect circle and Aaron figured it couldn't have been made by nature. He tried picking up one of the rocks, only to find that they were stuck in their place. Hercules looked on, intrigued and confused, his head slowly connecting the dots, like Aaron's. Aaron was a step ahead of him it seemed and he performed the spell of Moving Mountains directly in the middle of the circle. His hands glowed, as did the circle, and the stone wall within the circle was blown into the volcano, revealing an entrance underneath. Aaron squealed in delight and jumped into it, followed closely by Hercules who was once again impressed by Aaron's cleverness and ability to easily put two and two together.

An extremely thin line of lava (or magma?) ran along one side of the room they found themselves in, but it was already extremely hot and Aaron found himself sweating profusely, his cheeks glowing an awful red. Hercules wasn't as affected by the heat. Aaron grew dizzy for a second. He shook his head and pushed onwards, finding a door on the other side of the room that led to another room. His cloak began glowing blue, cooling him down somewhat. He - and Hercules with a start - realised that this meant he would have died in here were he only on his own. This realisation forced Hercules closer to Aaron, ready to carry him out of here if need be.

"With this heat... How did the priests survive in here? Nae has to protect me from the heat of the lava, so how did they survive it?" Aaron wondered out loud and Hercules nodded as he wondered the same thing.

They pushed onwards to the door on the other side of the room, stepping through it and finding a dimly lit chamber. There was a pedestal in the middle of the room with a book placed on it made of stone. Lava fell from the ceiling on the other side of the room, making this chamber even hotter than the one before and the blue from his cloak was glowing brighter, indicating that Nae had to work more to keep the heat from harming and perhaps killing Aaron. Aaron approached the stone book and read over it, mumbling to himself as the glow of his cloak grew ever brighter. As Aaron read over the text he looked up a few times to the lavafall, his eyes narrowing into a suspicious glare. He had read and understood the text, and walked over to the lavafall. Hercules looked over the text once as well, finding an odd symbol sticking out from the rest of the text. The symbol was two curve lines, like brackets on the left and two mirrored lines on the right, with a straight line in the middle. He tilted his head and looked up to the lavafall, yelping as he saw Aaron standing too close in front of it. He was sure that Nae, a siren of the ocean, wouldn't be able to protect him from such temperatures. Aaron lifted his right hand, palm up, fingers spread. Then, he lifted his left hand, fingers touching each other and placed his fingertips directly in the middle of his palm of his right hand. With narrowed and suspicious eyes he then spread the finger of his left hand and lifted it slightly from his right palm. His hands glowed briefly, sparks came from his fingertips and turned into smoke that slowly engulfed his right and then his left hand and slowly worked its way up his arms. Aaron looked at his arms and the still travelling smoke surprised and amazed, Hercules looked on terrified.

Suddenly, Aaron looked at the lavafall and stuck his arms into it. Hercules yelped, running to Aaron, but Aaron didn't scream, didn't even flinch. Hercules looked on confused, Aaron's cloak had completely stopped glowing as the smoke slowly engulfed all of Aaron, and he stepped through the lavafall. Hercules was wide-eyed and left in the chambers dumbfounded.

"A-Aaron?" he stuttered, terrified. "A-Aaron?!"

"I'm alright!" Aaron yelled from the other side and Hercules sighed in pure relief.

"What did you do?!" Hercules demanded, worry still very clear in his voice.

"A new spell. 'Bearing Fire', it's called. I suppose the priests must have used it to survive in hear!" Aaron grinned, excited.

"Alright, okay, fine. Wh-what's on the other side?" Hercules asked.

Aaron turned around, examining the room he found himself in. There were inscriptions on the walls all around and a pair of stairs led up to a pedestal. Quietly, he approached the pedestal, walking up the stairs cautiously as they looked extremely old. He could finally see what was on the pedestal and he found a pair of leather gauntlets, with silver fingertips and the symbol for the spell on the back of them. The smoke had disappeared from around Aaron and he picked the gauntlets up carefully. He examined them closer, noticing how their age had worn away at them, but not to an extent where they would be unusable. Perhaps he could repair some of them. At least the silver, or by closer examination he wasn't sure what the fingertips were made of, needed to be renewed.

He walked back down the stairs and approached the walls. He began reading and translating the words inscribed upon the walls. The inscriptions told of the god of fire, who created the sun in the sky and used his volcano's lava to create fertile land. Further along the walls, he found directions to another temple, and he grew very excited.

"Aaron, what's going on in there?" Hercules asked from the other side of the lavafall. Aaron turned around with an excited grin then turned to the wall again and took out a notebook, quickly scribbling down the directions. He then proceeded to put on the gauntlets, confused for a second as smoke didn't immediately engulf him. He looked at the gauntlets and experimentally snapped his fingers, a spark coming from his fingertips and smoke erupted from within the gauntlets, completely engulfing him in a second. He hurried through the lavafall, startling Hercules who had become worried at not receiving an answer immediately. He snapped his fingers again and the smoke disappeared. He grinned at Hercules, shoving his notebook with the directions into his face. "What's this?" Hercules asked and took the notebook from Aaron's hands, quickly skimming over it.

"Alexander's temple! The temple of wind! That's the next temple!" Aaron's squealed delightedly. Hercules' eyes widened and an excited grin slowly crept onto his face as his brain processed what this actually meant.

"Alexander's temple!" Hercules repeated with wide, unbelieving eyes.

"Alexander's temple!" Aaron confirmed, jumping up and down in his excitement and jumped on Hercules, hugging him closely and kissing him. The blue glow didn't return from his cloak. Aaron pulled back, his excitement having grown soft in his eyes as he looked into Hercules' eyes finding the same soft excitement in them. He beamed up at Hercules who shared his expression. Hercules kissed his forehead until he noticed the gauntlets.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing down at the gauntlets on Aaron's hands.

"I found them in the other room. They must be the artefact of this temple. I wonder what Alexander's temple's artefact is?" he giggled and Hercules grinned, leading them both out of this temple. Aaron had to squint his eyes as they exited it, the sun outside shining brighter than the lava inside. His mind jumped back to what he had read on the walls.

The inscriptions had told of the god of fire, who had created the sun in the sky. It made Aaron wonder. Had Thomas known the god of fire? Thomas, as the god of the sun, hadn't created it himself, according to the inscriptions. Aaron's brows furrowed as he mulled it over. Hercules noticed this quickly.

"What's on your mind?" he asked and Aaron glared at the ground in front of them.

"The inscriptions on the wall said that the god of fire also created the sun... I'm just wondering if Thomas knew him..." Aaron explained and Hercules hummed, brows furrowing as well.

"So Thomas didn't create the sun? That's news," Hercules thought out loud.

"Maybe... Wait, do you know how old Thomas is?" Aaron asked and Hercules put a finger to his chin in thought.

"He's not as old as I am... Actually, he's pretty young compared to most gods, even James is older than him! I think he's..." he began mumbling, "Alexander died 330 years go... Thomas began to live about four centuries before that..." he then had the answer and spoke it out loud, "He's about 730 years old... Wait, the sun existed before that!" he suddenly realised.

"If only we knew when the god of fire died. Maybe... I dunno, maybe it hs something to do with that?" Aaron tried and Hercules nodded.

"It most likely does... Maybe if we find all the temples we can figure this out... Where is the next temple?" he asked and gave Aaron the notebook back. Aaron skimmed over it.

"The temple of wind is located within a perpetual wall of fire... Located near the 'Winding Woods'... Do you know that place?" Aaron said and Hercules shook his head.

"Never heard of it," Hercules admitted and his brows furrowed, "Maybe we can ask around somewhere if anyone knows where it is..." Aaron nodded at the suggestion.

"Alright, we'll do that. First let me bring the gauntlets back home, yeah? We'll meet again in a month at home to share what we found, okay?" Aaron said and Hercules agreed. Hercules and Aaron shared a farewell kiss before they parted ways, though Hercules did so rather reluctantly. He didn't want to leave Aaron, his heart yelled out to him that he should stay with him. Aaron shared the feeling, but he reasoned that if they asked around separately they'd be able to cover more ground and find out about it quicker. Aaron flew up and entered the realm of the gods, quickly flitting to and through the tornado into the palace. He stored the gauntlets in the room with the shovel just as quickly, and almost left before he noticed something like crying. He followed the odd sound leading him to the stone garden, where he found James' carrier and another carrier that looked rather familiar sitting and lying on one of the rocks in the stone garden. James' carrier was whimpering and whining, scratching at the rock under it and the other carrier rubbed at its back, as though trying to comfort it. Aaron, confused, flew over to them, startling the pitch-black carrier. James' carrier looked up from the rock and stared at Aaron with big red eyes, sadness flooding within them. It tugged at Aaron's heartstrings, but he didn't know what the carrier was sad about, much less how to help it.

The pitch-black carrier pointed at the rock, then at itself, then dragged its finger over its throat and stuck out its tongue. Aaron recognized the almost childish way the carrier communicated to him that a dead carrier was lying underneath the rock.

"A-Alexander's carrier?" Aaron asked and the pitch-black carrier nodded. The pitch-black carrier went back to rubbing at James' carrier's back in comfort, which had returned to whimpering and scratching at the rock. Aaron didn't know what to do, but he decided to leave the carriers alone and begin searching for the 'Winding Woods'.

 

Alexander wondered why Washington had become so weird and bitter and aggressive, especially towards him. A week after Washington had abandoned him in the basement, he had put the necklace back on. Alexander hadn't even noticed when Washington had put the necklace back on, having been caught crying. Washington had apologized to him but Alexander wasn't sure if he could forgive that. In the end, he decided he couldn't and he decided he didn't want any of this. Most importantly he didn't want to be in Washington's company, even if complete and utter loneliness was the only other option. He decided he would rather die alone than in Washington's company, though the thought still terrified him.

Alexander whimpered, his body was itching. He tried to suppress the itch, but it just wouldn't go away. He knew the itch, he knew what it was. He needed to move, but he couldn't. He needed to move. His body needed to move. It was itching within him, the urge and desire. His body craved movement, free movement. Movement he knew he would never again have in his life. He scratched at his arms, his legs, scratched at them until he felt blood coming forth, trying to scratch that damn itch that was driving him mad, but he could never quite reach it. He hit his legs against the glass, an attempt at movement, but it only ended up breaking his leg into pieces the more he hit it against the glass. He did the same with his left arm, breaking it as well in the process. Tears streamed out of his eyes and down his cheeks as the itch just wouldn't go away. He scratched at his head, roughly pulled his hair and forcefully ripped it out with pieces of his skin. It hurt, a pain hot and sharp ran and flowed over him like burning hot lead, liquid silver being poured over him, yet it did nothing to relieve his itch, this itch, this damn itch that was driving him mad. He needed to move, he needed to get out, to get out, to get out, to get OUT!

He threw himself against the glass, again and again, and again and again, until his ribs were broken, until his shoulder was broken, until his hip was broken and it was still itching, he was still itching. He got up again from the floor, the pain in his leg and arm and shoulder and hip and ribs burning and stabbing yet doing nothing against the itch. In a desperate last attempt, he hit his head against the wall. Almost softly at first, then he became more and more violent after each hit. Red filled his black vision, spots of white and visions of something bright. He hit his head again and again and again and again, until he heard a sickening cracking sound and after he hit his head one more time after that, everything slipped away. He slipped away. And for the first time in over twenty-five years, he was something like asleep. The Judge noticed nothing of this.

 

James walked back and forth in his palace. It was two weeks after his little chat with the Judge. He hadn't noticed the Judge proclaiming a hunt for the mortal or coming after him himself without much fanfare. James would have seen that. He had a keen eye watching the realm below, refusing to lower his moon and kept it in the sky, despite Thomas often yelling at him to move out of the sky. James kept watching the world below, having a spell set alarm for him if the Judge should leave for the realm below. He growled. The Judge was selfish, like every other god in their realm. This realm, so he noticed with himself and others, seemed to take a part in their selfishness and tending to it. Gods were selfish, but those who stayed a lot in their realm seemed to be more so. The gods hadn't often a reason to venture into the mortals' realm and leave their home. James wondered how much this affected him, as he spent most of his time in his moon, which was accessible through both the mortals' realm and the gods' realm. A shudder went down his spine and he frowned. He knew it was only a fragile matter of time until the Judge would go looking for Aaron himself or have someone do it for him. He couldn't let that happen, under no circumstances. He had to at least warn Aaron, his mind ordered him, warn him and perhaps protect him should the need arise. He realised this action would inevitably lead to him being ostracised by the other gods, yet he didn't mind shedding his social standing for this mortal. Aaron thrown a rope down the hole in which James had found himself, had given him the chance to redeem himself, and he would be damned if he didn't grab this opportunity with all the force he could muster to grab it with.

It was decided then, he nodded. He left his palace and hurried to his moon. He watched the realm below carefully, feeling a spot within it that was exceedingly familiar. But he stayed inside the moon. Perhaps he could help, he thought. Whatever Aaron might need, he was sure he could help acquire it. Perhaps he could offer his services, he wondered. He would do anything to fix the mistakes he had made. A thought struck him then, most peculiar. Was it selfish what he did? A god was inherently selfish, he knew, so would his actions be inherently considered selfish? He pondered the question. His actions were after all a direct result of him wanting to fix his mistakes because they made him feel bad, and fixing them made him feel good or at least better about himself. Were his actions then, as morally right as he viewed them, inherently selfish? Would he have even considered helping Aaron if it didn't make him feel better? He was stuck on the question. Inherently, all his actions led back to whether or not he found the outcome pleasurable or painful. If all he did was simply the result of him being selfish, he wondered, was there a point for debating it? It was an essential part of him, and everyone, then. Because, and he was sure of this, no one acted unselfishly, no matter who they were. He concluded, finally, he would be selfish no matter what he did, as it would at some point be connected to a benefit or negative consequence affecting him depending on whether or not he acted. If he did something good, he did it because it made him feel good. If he refused to do something bad, he did it because he knew the consequences of doing it would affect him negatively. In the end, his very nature forced him to be selfish and he wondered if any other god like him had ever faced this particular dilemma before. However, he also concluded that there must be different kinds of selfishness. Thus far he counted two; selfishness leading you to act morally good because your mind desired the positive emotions that it derived from such actions and then selfishness that led you to act in ways that harmed another to bring you a benefit, essentially putting others needs below your wants while the other type of selfishness required the need or want of another to be tended to in order for your want to be satisfied. Perhaps there were more, but these two were the ones he could imagine and comprehend best.

He figured he would be the first type of selfish, as another's needs, in this case, Aaron's safety, was key to his own want, fixing his mistakes and feeling better, being satisfied. Perhaps he was selfish, like every other god, but he wasn't as selfish as any other god.

He looked upon the realm below, looking and searching, branding every detail of this world into his mind and for the first time he really noticed things. Small things, like he had never noticed before. While the mountains and cities were huge, they were nothing compared to the intricate detail of an apple tree, all its leaves and fruits, each working differently but in a whole contributing to the same goal, survival and spreading. An intricate system in each leaf and he silently wondered who made it. He had to wonder, because he didn't remember any god who made them. He couldn't remember if a god had created these intricate systems, but he knew one had had to. Nothing existed without a god to rule it. He stared and imagined himself down there, sitting below and in the shade of an apple tree, enjoying the time he could do nothing at all, enjoy the comforting warmth of the sun, the nice cool of the shade, the melodious sound of the leaves rustling in the wind, the tickling of the grass below him and perhaps the sweet taste of an apple in his mouth. The more he imagined, the more he wanted to be there. Why did the gods not want to be in the mortals' realm? After all, it was all their creation, so why should they not enjoy it? A frown cursed his lips as he wondered this. He asked himself why he wasn't down there, living his small fantasy. The truth was that he had never thought about it until that moment. That meant then that other gods hadn't even thought about it either. Was it an unusual train of thought? James wondered. Perhaps it was, he admitted to himself. After all, he had a penchant for the peculiar it seemed. Starting with those he fell in love with, to those he eventually sympathised with. But he could admit it to himself, he smiled proudly. Not every god would simply admit to something this hated amongst them. It was an odd thought, but the peculiar and unexplained was hated amongst them, who they are in themselves peculiar and unexplained as no god without mortal background or other gods as their parents or otherwise creators knew where they had come from. James, he found, was one of them. He couldn't remember not existing. He had just always existed. Then he thought. He was sure Alexander was older than him, an amused smile spread on his lips and he let out a soft laugh. Alexander was older than any god he knew, with the possible exception of the god of death, who was such an integral part of life that there couldn't have been a time in which he didn't exist. Then he thought, if Alexander was older than him, then perhaps he knew how James came into being. After all, the moon had already existed, it seemed, before he had, and that was an odd thought to him, as the god of the moon. Then again, he only moved it across the sky. He didn't know a thing about its origins.

He shook his head, it began to hurt. He couldn't quite comprehend the meaning of it all, let alone formulate an answer, no matter how unsatisfying.

Two more weeks passed, thus a whole month for Aaron and Hercules, who had both asked around in kingdom after kingdom for the 'Winding Woods', coming up with no results. Aaron was endlessly frustrated, especially so when it turned out Hercules had also not found anything. Defeated, Aaron and Hercules retreated home, back into the palace. Aaron locked himself in the library, hoping to find something there. Hercules grew worried for Aaron, whose frustration seemed to boil within him, seething and bubbling inside him, being kept quiet and still, not bubbling forth to relieve it. Hercules felt this, and he knew it was wrong and that it would only hurt Aaron to contain it like he does, but he didn't know how he would help him. He tried to find another way into the library, Aaron had locked it, but he was unsuccessful. He could only wait and hope Aaron would either find something quick or be reasonable and at least come to bed at a reasonable time. Dread built up in his stomach as he waited. He spent his time in the garden with the singing paradise flowers. They were beautiful, their singing enchanting, but he found they did not help get rid of this dread he felt in his stomach. He lay down next to a field of these flowers and sighed, closing his eyes. He let the flowers lull him to sleep.

Aaron threw the book in his hand behind him violently. He groaned and yelled loudly, letting his frustration out. He couldn't find anything. Nothing he found about woods had anything to do with the one he was looking for, and anything coming close to it made no damn sense, as though written by a madman. He hit his head on the table, burying his face in his in frustration and groaning once more. He knew he was worrying Hercules, but this fact, strangely, didn't manage to push to the forefront of his mind and it should. He looked through book after book after book but couldn't find a thing. Finally, he gave up. With a defeated sigh he leaned back against a wall, close to crying. He didn't usually cry this easily, but all of this frustration after so much done right was just... horrible. It was almost painful. No, it was painful, and he hated it. He hated how he suddenly felt like an absolute failure. He won't ever find this temple, he won't find Alexander, he will fail. This hurt, and he felt the tears prick at his eyes horribly forcefully, he couldn't do anything to keep them in.

His head perked up as the amulet around his neck began blinking oddly. His brows furrowed and he shook his head, rubbing the tears away from his eyes. He felt a presence outside the barrier, outside the tornado. The presence was a familiar one, he noticed. His head struggled to place exactly why it was familiar, trying to find out who it was. Then he noticed how it felt much like the magic infused within the moon amulet around his neck and it clicked in his head. James, the god of the moon was waiting outside the tornado. Aaron's brows furrowed in confusion as he wondered, what was he doing here? He thought for a second, should he let him in? Nothing really spoke for it, especially the fact that he didn't know James' motives. He decided he wanted to know, and he was sure he could adequately protect the palace from one god, especially since he had the palace's security system to fall back on.

He unlocked the library and took several turns and hallways and doors that led him into the main hall. He exited the palace and stepped outside, taking flight in the direction from which he felt James' presence. Cautiously, he opened a hole, finding a surprised James on the other side.

"What do you want?" Aaron asked and James' eyes immediately hit the moon amulet around Aaron's neck.

"So you _were_ the mortal with the bell lyre," he muttered and Aaron's eyes widened. Shit.

"What do you want?" Aaron asked, surprised that James hadn't yet seized the opportunity to slip inside while there was a passable hole in the barrier.

"I... I wanted to warn you, since you helped me. I swear I bear no ill intentions, quite the opposite!" James exclaimed hastily and Aaron raised a brow suspiciously.

"How do I know that you won't try anything stupid?" Aaron asked and James nodded, before he grabbed behind himself and pulled a staff from his back. Aaron flinched as he saw the weapon and recognized it as the staff James had used to fight Alexander on the day the king had come to get Aaron. Aaron immediately pulled out the tornado staff and threateningly pointed it at James.

"I'll give you the only weapon I possess. The moon staff," James said and held out the staff in his hand for Aaron to take. Aaron did so, without letting his guard down or stop pointing his staff at James. When James did nothing as Aaron took the staff, he was convinced.

"Get in," he ordered and James nodded, walking inside on the light as the hole closed behind him. Aaron cleared away the storm to grant James a view of the palace. James' eyes widened as he saw it, not having expected it. "It's a lot bigger on the inside. Not that I'll let you see any of it. Should you desire to leave at any point you may simply do so by exiting out of the tornado. I will not bother opening a hole as the tornado naturally expels anything that steps into it," Aaron explained and led James to and into the palace. James looked around, drinking in the view from inside. Aaron decided this talk, whatever it would be about, would best be suited to be done in the stone garden, as there were proper benches already placed there and he didn't want to have to conjure up clouds that would merely pass as benches. Once they arrived in the stone garden Aaron motioned for James to take a seat at a table standing there. He sat down opposite to him and looked at James expectantly. Before James could say anything, much less what he was here to talk about, he heard a whimpering and scratching near them.

"What the-" he muttered as his gaze finally hit from where the whimpering came from. his carrier Orsino lay on one of the rocks, he noticed it was an ordinary one, and scratched at it, whimpering. His brows furrowed in confusion. Aaron's look followed his and he smiled sadly as he saw the carrier.

"Poor thing..." Aaron muttered and James looked at him oddly.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked and Aaron looked at him with one brow raised.

"You don't know? That's your carrier and you don't know why it's here?" Aaron asked back and James shook his head and Aaron frowned and sighed. "Apparently Alexander's carrier is buried beneath that rock. Seems that little guy there was friends with it." James nodded quietly, yet his gaze didn't leave Orsino for another minute. Aaron cleared his throat, getting his attention back. "You were saying?"

"Yes, of course... I wanted to warn you. Washington, the Judge as you would know him, wants to see you dead," he explained taking Aaron aback.

"Why would he want that? Simply because I'm in your realm?" Aaron asked and James nodded.

"Something like that, I don't right know. He tried to get me to bring you to him," he lifted his hands as Aaron flinched back at those words, "I won't do it, though! He came to the conclusion that it was you who helped me twenty-five years ago and... and I thought to myself if it had really been you who had helped me back then, I would not under any circumstances allow you to be hurt by him. Or anyone with the same intent. I... I'm still grateful, so grateful for what you did back then. You... you knew who I was, yet you listened to me and you helped me and... I couldn't thank you enough for that! Just... Know if there is anything you ever need, I will do my best to help you acquire it. I know I won't ever be able to repay you for what you did, and I don't know if there is anything I could do to repay it all, but know that at least, you have a god on your side," James rambled on and Aaron found himself smiling and giggling.

"Well, if that's the case, do you know a place called the 'Winding Woods'?" Aaron asked and James was taken aback at hearing the name. It seemed familiar to him.

"Yeah, I do. It's near the place I came into existence," James explained and Aaron beamed at this. While James didn't know of a time before he existed, he knew exactly where he began existing. He visited the place every hundred years.

"That's amazing! Hercules and I tried to find the place, but no one seemed to know about it!" Aaron exclaimed excitedly.

"Well, that might be because it's got a reputation for being haunted. It's not, it's just riddled with creatures that get a kick out of scaring innocent people trying to find their way through the place," James explained and Aaron grinned.

"You have to bring us there!" Aaron proclaimed and abruptly stood up, startling James.

"Wait, why are you looking for that place?" he asked.

"Hercules and I found two temples already. The earth temple and the fire temple. The earth temple had directions to the fire temple, the fire temple had directions to the wind temple, and those directions mentioned the 'Winding Woods'! Now we can find the wind temple, and any other temple afterwards!" Aaron beamed and his excitement was contagious.

"Um... Alright! I'll bring you there and- wait, you didn't seem to be afraid when I told you the Judge is after you?" James realised and Aaron waved it off.

"Just another god, nothing special," Aaron shrugged and James was very taken aback by this answer. Aaron held no fear against the gods, it seemed. James couldn't decide if that was brave and impressive or simply foolish. Perhaps Aaron thought his cloak, which still made his features unrecognisable, would shield him from any harm. In truth, Aaron just found it unimpressive, seeing as his best friend was a powerful (albeit dead) god, his lover a muse and his now ally another god. That coupled with the knowledge he had gained about the artefacts within the palace and those he collected, and knowing he could wield them and use them against anyone, made him feel like he could hold his own for at least a bit. And he didn't quite fear dying. He was unsure whether the god of death would be welcoming or nice or treat him well, but he figured it would just be another mystery for him to figure out and perhaps another thing to fight and overcome, as so many other things in his life.

Aaron whipped out the map and quickly located Hercules in the garden right next to them with a smile and went to get him and tell him the good news. James was still perplexed at his attitude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((|)) this is the symbol they found in the temple!  
> James has joined your party! You can now access level 'Winding Woods'. You have now access to area 'Moon'. You have now access to the ability 'Beacon of Hope'. Gained 32 EXP. Found 0 G.  
> Character Info: James, God of the Moon, a beacon of hope, has been through a lot, depressed but trying his best, is just happy to be here. ATCK 90, MAGIC 87, DFNS 60.  
> Items: Moon staff, +17 ATCK, +17 MAGIC (Equipped); Alexander's Letters, +25 DFNS (Equipped)


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Into the Winding Woods!

Hercules' brows furrowed, sceptical and confused as Aaron woke him up and told him about what James told him.

"You think we can trust him?" Hercules asked, "He told you the Judge is after you and wanted him to bring you to him. What's to say he's not going to do that? All he'd have to do is get you out of the barrier. He said he knows where the 'Winding Woods' are, but who's to say he's not just saying that because he knows that's the way to get you out of here?"

"That's paranoid thinking, my heart," Aaron smiled and put his head on Hercules' shoulder, "You must know, I've seen this man at his worst in two separate cases. He was bitter when I met him first. He was lethally depressed when I met him second. It is not my right to tell just what he told me, but I found it convincing enough to warrant my sympathy and an attempt to help. It seems my attempt was mostly successful, he seems... better now, for lack of a better phrase. There is still this weight in his voice, but he's trying his best regardless, and I can't help but admire that."

"So you think we can trust him?" Hercules asked again and Aaron nodded.

"I suppose that's what I think, yes. Do you trust my judgement?" Aaron asked back. Hercules thought.

"I can't find a time where your judgement has been entirely wrong. Can you?" Hercules replied and Aaron shrugged.

"Thomas at first, perhaps. I'd gotten my trust in him from Alexander, though I lost it on my own," Aaron explained. Hercules gave it a second of thought. Then, he put his arms around Aaron, embracing him and pulling him close. Aaron cuddled into him, a happy smile on his lips. A moment of quiet passed before Hercules felt the need to address an issue.

"Aaron... You were... I suppose the term would be 'frustrated' in your case. How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Less of a complete failure now that we have someone who knows the location. Infinitely better, thanks for worrying," Aaron smiled up at him and Hercules giggled.

"Don't I always?" he asked with a grin and Aaron giggled in return.

"You always worry about me... You worry about me so much it concerns me. You don't seem to think about yourself as much," Aaron stated. The question 'How come?' was easily implied. Hercules kissed Aaron's head affectionately.

"You're all I've got left. I couldn't bear to lose you," Hercules mumbled.

"Oh, my heart, you have to know I feel the same. If I lost you I wouldn't know into what depression it would throw me. Perhaps I'd grow bitter, perhaps resentful, I wouldn't know. I don't suppose I know how I would handle grief," he mumbled with a thoughtful smile.

"Your parents?" Hercules asked, carefully.

"Were executed in front of me. Really, I scarcely felt anything in that exact moment, and even when my brain comprehended their deaths and the consequences of that, I felt nothing. Whether that was because I am scarcely disturbed by the concept of death or something else is beyond me. Perhaps there is something wrong with me for that, but I wouldn't know. I hadn't exactly anyone 'normal' to compare myself to," Aaron mused and Hercules frowned. Aaron could feel this as Hercules' lips were still on his head, "You're frowning, heart."

"You may not be normal, but know: I do not love you in spite of that. I love you for all of that," Hercules said and it caused Aaron to grin.

"Should I list my abnormalities to take pride in them?" he asked. Hercules laughed loudly.

"Do you take pride in them?" Hercules asked back.

"If I'm loved for them, I do," Aaron grinned, turned his head up and kissed Hercules, "But again, you've driven the topic to me. My heart, I'm worried about you. You keep worrying about me, but not once have I felt you worry about yourself. I don't hope you're as selfless as I've been led to believe."

"You want me to be selfish?" Hercules asked, confused.

"I want you to take care of yourself. Put your needs above anyone else's wants, don't put anyone's wants above your needs. Oh, my tongue wants to slip and say 'you're only human', which... Well... to be truthful, you're the closest I've ever known to a 'normal human', which is ironic since you're anything but," Aaron giggled. Hercules' brows shot up in surprise.

"What do you mean?" he asked and Aaron sighed with a smile.

"You're not a human, yet, I find, you would be what I would submit to be a normal human being. I hope this doesn't seem to sound offensive or insulting, it is anything but! You're... I don't know how to explain it... It's something lovely, though. I can only attempt to explain it by listing the influence it has on my own life, which I'm not sure how helpful that would be, but I shall try. At least in my life, you're a constant. A strong mountain with gentle hands upon which I can rely. Never once are you overbearing or overprotective, even if I feel you worry more about me than yourself. A strong yet gentle constant, compassionate and kind, yet stubbornly standing up for yourself and what you believe in. I love each of these aspects of you, and you've been the closest I've ever experienced to something 'normal'," Aaron smiled, getting up and helping Hercules up from the ground. Hercules couldn't help but smile lovingly at Aaron and kiss him sweetly. Aaron grinned into the short kiss.

"Alright, I trust you. If James has really changed, I suppose we should give him the chance to show this," he nodded and Aaron beamed up at him.

"Great! Then let's go, he must be waiting for us already!" Aaron beamed and led Hercules to the stone garden where James stood and threw a contemplative glance towards his carrier on the rock as he hummed. He turned around, surprised to see Hercules.

"Oh, uh... It is good to see you, Hercules! I uh... Look, I'm sorry for everything I've done and-" James attempted but Hercules stopped him.

"I get it, you don't have to apologize to me. As long as Aaron trusts you, then I'm willing to trust you. Well, as long as you don't make me reconsider. You said the Judge is after him?" Hercules interjected and James nodded.

"He is. I assume he wants him dead and I will do everything in my power to not let that happen," James said determinedly. Hercules smiled and held out his hand. James looked at him surprised and hesitantly shook the offered hand.

"Welcome to the team then!" Hercules grinned and James shyly smiled as they let go of each other's hand. Aaron grinned as well.

"Alright, let's go then! James, you said you know where the 'Winding Woods' are, right? Mind taking us there?" he announced and James nodded.

"Like I said, it's near the place- well, no, it actually _is_ the place where I came into existence. I know the place like the back of my hand. The spirits are annoying, playing pranks and tricking innocent people wandering into the woods, but otherwise, it's quite harmless. The only way to die in there would be starvation or thirst if you got lost," James explained and Hercules raised a brow.

"Well, I hope you know the way as well as you claim you do," Hercules mumbled and James nodded.

"Don't worry. Well, we should head out. It's night right now, so no one will notice us down there," James said and Aaron nodded.

Together the small group exited the palace and barrier, Aaron anxiously pulling the hood further onto his head and playing with the hem of his cloak, then exiting through the gates into the realm of mortals. James led them to a dark patch of woods, lying in stark contrast with the white mountains surrounding it. They landed at the 'entrance' into the woods, the concept of which confused Aaron until James explained to him that the spirits in the woods only left this small 'entrance' into the woods to enter into it through it. Walking through any other pair of trees would immediately lead you to the other side of the woods without actually passing through them. Aaron quietly announced his annoyance with the spirits' antics but complained no further.

James led them inside and Aaron noticed the darkness of the woods immediately surrounding and engulfing them. Suddenly, the moon amulet around his neck began glowing brightly, shining a light upon their path. He hummed intrigued and James smiled to himself with a quiet 'See? It works!'. Aaron took Hercules' hand into his own and kept close to him, not wanting to risk losing him in the woods. He heard something whispering around them and he kept even closer to Hercules. The whispers turned into cackling of some sort and he grew officially freaked out.

"Do you hear that?" he asked and Hercules looked at him with a raised brow.

"What do you mean?" he asked and Aaron looked up at him in disbelief. Before he could reply, however, James began to talk.

"The spirits. I can't hear them, but pay them no mind. They're going to try and lead you off path. Just don't listen to them and you should be fine. Don't worry, Aaron," James awkwardly smiled at him and Aaron sighed in relief and nodded.

"The spirits. Alright. Just the spirits," he muttered to himself. The cackling became louder the further they went into the woods. He could finally make out what they were saying at some point.

_He hates you, you know?_

_That muse._

_He says he loves you, but he really doesn't._

_He loves your face, but not you._

_And you refuse to show it to him!_

_How can you expect him to stay for **you**?_

_He will leave you if he can't see your face!_

_A face of such beauty that wars broke out between kingdoms who wanted to have you!_

_And you never cared about that, did you?_

_People were killed because of you, and you never tried to stop it._

_Don't you think that's disgusting?_

_**He**_ _does!_

_He thinks you're disgusting._

_Uncaring._

_Selfish._

_And what would you be if it weren't for your beauty?_

_Your beauty, for which people died!_

_Your beauty, without which you would be nothing._

_Nothing but a sick, uncaring, disgusting thing._

_Sick because you murdered a Queen in cold blood._

_Uncaring. You felt nothing as you murdered her._

_Disgusting because you don't feel remorse._

_Not for killing her. Not for all the people killed because of you._

_Not even for your own parents!_

_And you told him about that._

_Do you think he doesn't care about that? How you felt nothing as they were killed right in front of you._

_Do you think, that if he knew about the rest, he would look at you the same?_

_That he wouldn't care?_

_If he knew, he would think you're disgusting._

_Like you are._

_You're disgusting._

_DISGUSTING!_

Aaron pressed himself against Hercules, gritting his teeth, desperately trying to ignore the cackling spirits. He knew they were lying about Hercules, he absolutely knew it. But everything else? They were absolutely correct. Aaron felt disgusted by himself. He had felt no remorse for killing that Queen, still felt no remorse as he contemplated what the spirits said.

_Remember the King?_

Aaron flinched and tensed.

_Remember what you did with him?_

Aaron pressed his head into Hercules' arm. There was something dull calling in the back of his mind.

_He found you beautiful, like Hercules, like Alexander, like everyone. Do you think that anyone would stay with you, knowing who you are, if it weren't for your beauty?_

_Your beauty for which people worshipped you._

_Worshipped a sick, disgusting murderer._

Aaron wanted to protest, but his mouth wouldn't open.

_You thought about killing the King. You thought about torturing him. If you hadn't been freed you would have done it._

Aaron shook his head.

_You would have done it and you wouldn't have felt a thing, like you always do._

_Whenever you do something truly despicable._

_You feel nothing._

_It doesn't make you happy._

_And you do not feel remorse._

Aaron's breathing turned quick and shallow, his heart beating harshly against his ribcage at sickening speeds.

_If you feel nothing while you killed, why do you feel anything at all?_

_You don't, do you?_

_You don't actually **feel** anything, do you?_

_You don't actually feel happy, sad, or even in love._

_You don't love him._

_You couldn't care less about him._

_He's a distraction._

_You'll abandon him once he's useless to you._

"Aaron!" Hercules yelled, successfully ripping Aaron out of... whatever that was. The spirits all suddenly stopped in their cackling and lying. Aaron stared up at Hercules with big, terrified eyes, tears streaming down his face. He hadn't noticed he had begun crying. Hercules cupped his cheeks, thumb rubbing under his eyes, rubbing away the tears. "Aaron!" Hercules yelped in relief at seeing Aaron out of that trance and he hugged him tightly, "Thank goodness, are you alright?!"

_You worried him again._

_You can't do anything right._

Aaron ignored the spirits and hugged Hercules back.

"I'm sorry, don't worry- I-" he stuttered and stopped himself James looked at him with worry.

"You listened to them," James mumbled quietly as Aaron's look asked for an explanation of what had happened, "And they led you off path. They don't usually resort to the psychological. It seems you were special enough for that..."

"They? The spirits you mean?" Hercules asked, pulling away from the hug but not letting go of Aaron, who was grateful for that.

"Like I said, they lead innocent people off path. It doesn't matter whether that path lies in reality or in the mind of their victim..." James nodded with a frown, holding his left arm tightly and nervously. "Be careful, Aaron, and don't listen to them. They're lying."

"They... It didn't sound untrue... what they said..." Aaron mumbled and Hercules kissed his forehead. James sighed.

"It won't ever sound untrue. These spirits have the ability to seep through your mind, pick up your fears and use them against you in a way that makes them sound like they're telling the truth and are simply laying it out before you. The only truth they tell is the fears you have, nothing else. They make up the consequences they put after your fears," James explained and Aaron nodded, pressing himself into Hercules.

"L-let's go. We can't waste time. I don't want to be in here for a minute longer than I need to," Aaron said and Hercules and James nodded and they resumed walking. The spirits kept talking to Aaron, speaking of awful things, saying all bad things that have happened were all his fault. That he would never see Alexander again, that he was wrong in everything he did. that he was an absolute failure. It stung. It hurt, but he tried to ignore it, tried not to let them get the best of him again. He swallowed hard as he swallowed down the fears they lay before him.

James looked back at him a few times in worry. Hercules did something similar, though he squeezed Aaron's hand every now and then in an attempt to comfort him, having no clue what the spirits were actually telling him. Aaron didn't want either of them to worry about him, he didn't want to be the one they had to constantly worry about. Aaron sighed and leaned his head onto Hercules' arm, just below his shoulder. The warmth from Hercules' body, though small as he was only pressed against some of it, was more comforting than anything else.

At some point, Aaron wasn't sure when that was, James announced that they had arrived at the heart of the woods. A wall of fire was blazing in front of them, lighting up a huge chunk of area around it. It was extremely hot and the fire was blazing high, yet somehow it seemed contained in its own space, not affecting nor harming the area around it.

"Is this the place you were looking for?" James asked and looked at Hercules and Aaron. Aaron let go of Hercules' arm and decisively approached the wall of fire. he performed the spell Bearing Fire, and smoke began to engulf him fully and he easily stepped through the wall of fire, leaving James to gasp behind. James' head shot to Hercules in shock and confusion. "What- what just happened?!" he asked, almost scared and Hercules just nervously laughed.

"It's... A spell he learned recently... I forgot what it's called but it turns him into smoke and immune to fire... Is there a way we can get through this without getting burned?" Hercules replied but James shook his head.

"If there is, I wouldn't know..." James admitted and sat down, watching the fire roar. "Nothing left to do but wait, I suppose..."

Hercules frowned but sat down next to James, watching the fire as well and waiting for Aaron.

Aaron passed the wall of fire easily, finding a temple behind it. The wind temple, he gasped quietly in silent wonder. He wondered what must be inside this place. What would await him in there, he wondered.

Anxiously, he stepped inside. The temple was kept rather simple, besides the inscription in the walls. The temple was a simple grey, unlike the warm brown of the earth temple or the fierce red of the fire temple. The inscription told of the god of winds, Alexander as Aaron noted amused with a laugh. It told of his nature, a prankster, as Aaron knew, who could be quite destructive with the storms he tended to summon. He was a collector as well, as the inscriptions said. They told Aaron nothing knew, nothing he didn't already know until he found the altar. Nothing lay upon it, but words were scribbled into it, as though with haste. He could barely decipher what was written on it, but then discovered it was the spell of the temple. He grew excited as he read it. The spell was rather simple to perform. Simply holding out two fingers and move them up, down and up in a wave-like motion. Simple, really, its symbol two lines in a waveform. The spell of 'Wielding Winds'. He looked around, trying to find something on which he could use the spell and noticed a door on the other side of the room. He wondered if this temple had a similar layout as the other temples.

He approached the door but began coughing uncontrollably before he could enter and his cloak began glowing brightly, making the pain in his lungs disappear. Cautiously, he opened the door and was met with a flood of purple clouds. Poisonous gas that was taking form as purple clouds. He coughed a few more times before the poison was expelled from his body. He lifted his right hand and performed the spell. A harsh wave of winds surged from him and expelled the purple poison clouds from the hallway. He entered cautiously, repeatedly performing the spell to move onwards and expel the other poison clouds. As he moved onwards, the hallway grew thinner, the walls almost touching him and he grew claustrophobic and uncomfortable. He finally arrived at the end of the hallway and entered through the door. Inside the chamber, there were no more poison clouds, however behind him appeared new ones in the hallway. He closed the door so at least most of it would stay out of this chamber. He gave a quick look around, noticing the inscriptions on the walls first and then the pedestal in the middle of the room, as with the other temples. He hummed with a smile and approached the pedestal, walking up the stairs leading to it. But when he arrived, he had to find that there was nothing lying on top of the pedestal. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. He felt along the pedestal, trying if there was perhaps a secret compartment or something like that, however he found nothing. He frowned disappointedly.

Disappointed, he walked down the stairs and to the inscriptions on the walls, looking for the directions to the next temple. According to the inscriptions, he noted, the next temple would be the water temple. The inscriptions said that the water temple would be located within an everlasting storm directly next to the ocean. Which ocean, the inscriptions didn't specify. It did specify, however, that the storm stretched far enough for a fisher village with the name of 'Kjurhquat' to be able to see it easily and avoid it. Aaron wondered why the inscriptions specified this fisher village above any other that could have been nearby.

He played with the hem of his cloak, accidentally pulling at it and moving the tornado staff on his back into an uncomfortable position. He groaned and pulled it out and corrected how the strap lay on his back.

He grumbled to himself, shifting the strap into its correct position and looking at the staff in his hands. Suddenly, he noticed something. His staff had the exact same symbol on it that was the symbol for the spell of 'Wielding Winds'. He halted with a start, glaring at the symbol on his staff and blinking in confusion. Could it be? he thought, that this was the original artefact from this temple? he wondered. He blinked more and stared at the staff closer. He nodded. It would make sense, he thought. The spell of 'Wielding Winds' made the user able to control the wind. The tornado staff had the same function, but could also creature tornados. He thought. The spell of 'Moving Mountains' moved the earth and _could_ move mountains if you were strong enough, while that was the shovel's default function. The spell of 'Bearing Fire' turned you to smoke and enabled you to walk through fire (and lava) undisturbed. The gauntlets turned you into smoke and you could control when they would with the snap of a finger which, he later found out, could also give you the ability to create fire. It would make sense if the tornado staff originally belonged into the wind temple. He hummed intrigued. He quickly jotted down the directions in his little notebook and exited the chamber, blowing the poison clouds away with the tornado staff and strapping it to his back again.

He exited through the wall of fire, using the spell of 'Bearing Fire', turning himself into smoke. Hercules and James sprung up quickly upon seeing him exit through the wall of fire. Hercules ran to him.

"That was fast! What did you find?" Hercules asked and Aaron grinned at his enthusiasm. He pulled out his notebook and showed it to Hercules.

"I got the directions to the next temple. The water temple!" Aaron grinned and Hercules raised a brow.

"Did the temple have an artefact?" he asked and James looked at him confused.

"Artefact?" James asked and Aaron nodded.

"Remember how I told you how we found the earth and the fire temple before? Well, both had an artefact in it, a shovel and gauntlets respectively. This temple... well, there was nothing in it but the spell, but you know the tornado staff, right, Hercules?" Aaron replied and Hercules nodded.

"What about it?" he asked.

"I think the tornado staff was originally from here. It has the symbol of the spell engraved in it," he explained and Hercules nodded.

"Alright! I expected something else, but- wait, wouldn't that mean Alexander was here before?" he suddenly realized and Aaron nodded his head, eyes wide with the same sudden realisation.

"Yeah, that's the only thing that would make sense! But if that's the case, why did he never tell me about it? I would think he knew about the other temples as well then?" Aaron wondered out loud.

"Maybe he didn't know about the other temples? I've never heard of a god of fire or a god of earth... I assume they're dead so... He wouldn't even remember them," James reasoned and Aaron nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, that would make sense. Still, it's weird that he never told me about his own temple... You know what, forget it. We have directions to the next temple, let's start looking for it, why don't we?" Aaron shrugged and Hercules nodded, agreeing.

"Let's see, where do we have to go... to 'Kjurhquat'? Did I say that right?" Hercules said and Aaron nodded.

"Apparently it's a-"

"A fisher town," James interrupted and Aaron nodded.

"You know the place?" he asked and James nodded.

"I think it was washed away by a storm about five years ago. But I know where it stood," James explained and Aaron grinned in relief.

"As long as you know where it is, that's the best we can do. Now, let's get out of here. I don't want to be here another minute!" Aaron exclaimed and they made to leave the woods, the spirits began to whisper again but they didn't speak up again as they left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Aaron. Those awful spirits!


	32. Chapter 32

They quickly exited the woods and Aaron breathed a sigh of relief at this. He kept hugging himself through the whole way out and still kept a tight grip on his own arms as he then led the group back into the realm of gods. James looked on surprised to find that Aaron knew how to get inside without help. Aaron flitted to the tornado and hushed inside, leaving Hercules and James confused on the other side. Hercules took hold of James' arm and entered through the tornado, it not disturbing them thanks to the amulet Aaron had gifted him. Hercules scarcely saw Aaron before he flitted inside the palace. He followed him suite with James now close behind.

Aaron flitted through the hallways until he arrived at the door to the woolmilkpig fields. As he stepped inside the woolmilkpigs crowded around him, oinking happily at seeing him again. He kneeled down and scratched behind each one's ears. The woolmilkpigs regarded him oddly and one of them, one of Edel's offspring, pushed closer to him and growled or purred in an attempt to comfort him. Aaron looked at it surprised but then gave a sad smile as he hugged the woolmilkpig, grateful for its comfort.

"Thanks, Pyrite, I appreciate it. I just..." he sighed and pushed the hood from his head, revealing the tears that flowed down his cheeks. "It's just..." he couldn't find the right words and simply hugged Pyrite closer. His cloak began to glow a soft blue and Nae's spirit manifested next to him, spooking the woolmilkpigs.

"Hm... Now I know what you would be," Nae said and Aaron looked up at it confused. "A cracked porcelain doll."

"Wh-what?" Aaron asked and Nae giggled.

"You're beautiful as a doll and you are hurt but not yet broken. A cracked doll is not yet broken, but it won't take much more to break it. If you just took off the mask more often with Hercules I'm sure he'd be willing to help," Nae grinned and Aaron glared at the ground.

"That's just what the spirits told me... So you think the same thing..." Aaron growled and Nae shrugged.

"Absolutely not. Those fools know nothing and pretend they know the world's secrets. Wood spirits, ha! They know merely the extent of their woods, have not a clue what lies beyond it! Almost pitiable, and I would never share their opinion," Nae proclaimed and Aaron scoffed.

"You just said the same thing as they did with me and-"

"I did not," Nae hissed. Aaron glared at it and Nae rolled its eyes and scoffed. "You'll break if you don't, you should know," Nae shrugged and swam around him and began humming, its hair flowing beautifully around him and he swatted it away.

"Break," Aaron let out a bitter laugh as he pulled the hood back over his head, "Wouldn't that be neat. Finally have the curse off of me."

Nae hummed and shook its head.

"That's not-"

The doors to the fields were opened and Hercules stepped inside, Aaron spotted James just behind him looking around in awe. Hercules spotted Aaron and went over to him with a relieved smile. Nae immediately disappeared back into the cloak upon seeing Hercules. Aaron made sure the hood was pulled over his head properly. He didn't want Hercules to see his tear stained cheeks or his red puffy eyes. He turned back to Pyrite who, now that Nae was gone, dared closer to Aaron again and snuggled into him and purred. Aaron chuckled and scratched behind its ear.

"Aaron... What's wrong, love?" Hercules asked and sat down next to Aaron who hesitated to lean against him.

"What do you mean?" Aaron replied and Hercules sighed.

"I know that it's probably something you don't want to talk about but... You don't look... you don't look well. I hope you'll talk to me about it..." Hercules said quietly, just loud enough for Aaron to hear who looked away.

"I..." Aaron stopped, the words he wanted to say didn't feel right on his tongue. Within his core, he felt the desire to tell him what was on his mind. But there was something, he didn't know what, that stopped him from sharing it, stopped the words that would otherwise be flowing right from his mouth and collect on the ground before him for Hercules to pick up. There was just something that stopped him and he kept it bubbling inside. Hercules frowned as Aaron turned away from him but nodded.

"I understand, don't worry. Whenever you feel ready you can tell me what's bothering you, okay? Just... please don't keep it to yourself for too long..." Hercules said softly and Aaron nodded but didn't look at him. "We have the directions for the next temple, do you want to go soon?" he asked and Aaron thought for a second then shook his head. "Do you want to be alone?" Hercules asked and Aaron, quite hesitantly, nodded. Hercules nodded too, although he was hesitant to leave Aaron alone when he seemed so under the weather, especially since he had his assumptions as to what the problem was, and stood up, making James get up from being cuddled to death by woolmilkpigs and they left the fields.

Outside the fields, James kept quiet for a few minutes until Hercules sighed and brushed through his hair with his hand. James looked back at the door with worry in his eyes.

"Why did you leave him alone in there?" James asked and Hercules shook his head.

"He wants to be alone and... I... I think he needs to think about something. I know something is worrying him or bothering him, but... I think he would tell me if it was something he couldn't manage on his own... I trust him to tell me if things are too much for him to handle alone," Hercules explained, though sounding too unsure of himself to convince James.

"You look like you know something..." James said and Hercules shook his head.

"I have assumptions, that's all I have... and until Aaron either confirms or denies them I'm not comfortable sharing them... I don't want to be correct..." Hercules mumbled and James frowned.

"I think I know the assumptions you have... And I can only hope he listens to what I said... I can't imagine what the spirits must have told him..." James muttered and Hercules glared at him. "You never said I shouldn't share my own assumptions. And from what I've seen of the two of you I could make a good few of them. Nothing nasty, just small explanations to observations I've made."

Hercules raised a brow, "And what might those be?"

"Now those are assumptions I'd rather not share. Don't glare at me like that, you did the exact same thing! So... what do we do now? Aaron wants to be alone and we can't check out the uh... water temple without him, can we?" James asked and Hercules shook his head displeased.

"If this one's anything like the others it will require the previous temple's spell or the artefact to get inside, both of which are in Aaron's possession... We would have no such luck of getting in," Hercules explained and James sighed.

"Then we'll just have to wait, won't we?" James complained and Hercules laughed and made to leave the hall. James looked up in confusion. "Where are you going?" he asked and began to follow.

"Library, you're welcome to join," Hercules said and James raised a brow.

"Alexander has a library?" James asked, surprised.

"Alexander has a lot of things. If you're lucky Aaron will show you around. And by lucky I mean if he trusts you enough," Hercules grinned at James who looked impressed.

"So Aaron has shown you everything in here?" James asked with awe in his voice and Hercules' mind halted.

"Um... n-no, he... hasn't, but, you know, we're down below more than that we're home and..." and thus a seed of doubt was planted in his head. James' eyes widened as he realized what Hercules must be thinking.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not what you're thinking! He trusts you with his life, after all, right? I mean, you two are lovers, aren't you? I mean, from what I've picked up and you call him 'love' and all that, so I just assumed you two were an item and, you know, I'm sure he just hasn't shown you everything because you two were so busy with the temples and stuff, you know?" James rambled in a panic but it was too late, the seed of doubt had taken root in his mind and could not be removed.

"He doesn't trust me..." Hercules muttered, quietly and to himself, not meant for James' ears.

"Yes, he does!" James interjected and Hercules glared and growled at him, shutting him up. Hercules proceeded to stomp away, presumably to the library, leaving James alone in the hallway, unsure of what to do. Perhaps he should follow Hercules, but he didn't want to worsen the situation any more than he did. Had he made another mistake? He groaned and slapped his own head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! You can't do anything right, can you?!" he yelled at himself, "Even when you try to fix things, you mess them right up again! Fuck, you make everything worse, don't you? Who in their right mind would ever trust you with anything if you keep messing shit up! No one, that's who! Fuck, you're an imbecile and a good-for-nothing, all in one."

 

Miles away, far, far below in the realm of mortals, Queen Yala had finally found what she was looking for. It had taken 25 years of sending out servants to every nook and cranny of her and others' kingdoms, but finally, she found what she had been looking for. The symbol she had noticed on the broach those many years ago belonged to a god so old and forgotten that his name could hardly be properly translated into the modern dialect, but in the end, she found out who the mysterious figure either was or served. The god of the wind, or of storms, sources varied but only between the two. As she had the translated documents delivered to her she devoured each and every one of them, not resting or taking care of herself the whole time. Isma had to pull her away and violate many of their laws regarding behaviour around their royalty to put her to sleep and make sure she takes care of herself as well as the duties she had regarding her kingdom.

Queen Yala lost many sleepless nights over the documents, reading and devouring the information they held, cross-referencing and taking notes as she figured out more and more about the god. He was old, older than almost any god it seemed, as the earliest records of him were even earlier than those they had on the god of Justice, the god they had assumed to be the oldest. And he was powerful. She gasped in awe at the stories told in the documents, of great storms, tornados, hurricanes that swept away mountains and destroyed continents. A fearsome creature, no doubt, with a bad temper, and she gasped as she realized that either he or his servant had visited her. She read story after story, legend after legend, finding more and more that, in the end, didn't match up with the things she read before. There were many contradicting sources, some stating this god was horribly vengeful and others that described him as a curious soul, but all sources except one seemed to agree on the sacrifices that this god would accept. This sacrifice would always be strange items whose powers could not be properly wielded by them, making this god seem like a bit of a collector, and tales of his home in the realm of gods confirmed this. Eventually, she looked through a document that made her gasp in surprise.

He wasn't the only such powerful god. But as she read the list of other gods he belonged to, she discovered that there was only one god on that list that she recognized, and a shiver ran down her spine and she shook her head, concentrating on the document and what it told about the other gods. It said that these gods were the most powerful of them, having control over the most essential elements of existence. They were called the Imperative gods in the documents, and their existence predated those of every other god, no god came before them and, as she concluded, most of them must have disappeared, as she had never heard of seven of these gods. But what made them disappear, she wondered, unaware of the fact that if a god or goddess was forgotten they (usually) disappeared for good.

 

Within Alexander's palace, James wandered around, trying to find his way to... well, he wasn't sure where he wanted to go, but he didn't just want to stay in one place the whole time. He looked around, the door around him and those floating in mid-air had chains around them, all of them, and he couldn't go through those doors, forcing him to wander the hallways and halls until he found himself in the main hall. He didn't notice that it was the main hall he was in until he opened the only set of doors that had no chains around them, which were the doors leading outside. He frowned and looked back, there was nothing he could do now in here, both Aaron and Hercules were in a bad mood, something he couldn't help with, evidently, and he decided that, until this has solved itself, he would leave them to it. So he left, leaving a short letter he had summoned and written on it that they could find him in the moon if they needed him.

He left, letting the tornado expel him naturally. He headed to his moon, hunched over and as he entered it, he halted, surprised to see Thomas inside. He took a step back in shock, with a start. Thomas glared at him with a fury he had not seen in so long, he hadn't seen Thomas in so long. He realized he hadn't seen him in over twenty years. Thomas had changed a lot, he found, his hair was on fire in a hot blue flame, his clothing hastily thrown over, his skin glowing brightly and angrily, the flame on his head spreading to the rest of his body.

"Wh-what are you doing here, Thomas?" James asked, pressing himself into the nearest wall with a whimper.

"What were you doing in Alexander's palace!" Thomas yelled, ignoring James' question and threateningly stepping closer to him.

"It was... I was... That's... It's none of your... no, wait, no... It's, uh... Uh, I..." James stuttered, the stutter becoming worse the closer Thomas stepped to him. Thomas' flame flared brighter and more threateningly with each step.

"What. Were you. Doing. There," Thomas hissed and lifted his hand, it catching on fire and threatening James with it. James' eyes widened in fear as he realized Thomas had summoned silver fire, his breathing became quick and shallow, and he couldn't think. Silver fire could scar even a god permanently and the scar would hurt like an intense burn forever. Not even the goddess of healing would be able to heal those scars and alleviate the pain, easing it from the scars, it was just not possible. He knew it and he stared at Thomas's hand and the silver fire, absolutely terrified and afraid of what Thomas was planning to do with it.

"I... I... Aaron and- and Hercules and... I... I uh-" James stuttered and Thomas' eyes widened in anger. James pressed himself tighter against the wall he was stuck against, his legs wouldn't, couldn't move, petrified in fear and horror.

"Aaron? What about him! He's in the palace?! How did _you_ of all people get inside it?! What did you do to Aaron?!" Thomas yelled, holding the fire in his hand closer to James' eyes. James began trembling in fear, he didn't have his staff on him and he couldn't defend himself for sure.

"I... I didn't do anything! I didn't do anything to him, I just- A-Aaron requested my help and-" he tried and stuttered in his defence but was interrupted.

"Why would he ask for _your_ help on anything? Why would he not come to me then? Why did he not let me come to him in 25 years?!" he yelled and James flinched back.

"I haven't a clue! I just, he helped me, and I wanted to help him in return and- and- and I just want to help, Thomas, please get that fire away from me!" James begged but Thomas wasn't too happy with his answer. With a growl, Thomas pushed his fire into the left half of James' face.

James screamed, the pain was burning hot and his face felt like it was melting right off his skull. The pain was unbearable and no matter how much he writhed and convulsed, Thomas wouldn't let go of him and didn't lift his hand from his face. James screamed, pleaded and begged for Thomas to let go, but Thomas was too enraged, his mind and sight blinded by red rage and green jealousy. James writhed and squirmed and thrashed in Thomas' tight and forceful grip, but Thomas didn't let go, no matter what James did, forcing his silver fire onto James' face, the burning, blazing pain tormenting James and his screams of agony became louder and tears of his intense suffering streamed down his cheeks, resulting in a deep, scarred line, as the fire was on the left half of his face and burned his tears into his flesh.

Finally, Thomas let go of James, who immediately fell to the ground, crying and screaming as the pain didn't subside. It continued to burn into his flesh, burn and scar him as he sobbed through the agony. Thomas' rage didn't subside. And his jealousy only continued to flare.

"I don't know what you did to get him to let you inside the palace, but if you ever go to see him again, I can't promise I won't do everything in my power to turn your life into everlasting torture. I will not allow you to hurt Aaron," Thomas spat, but James just continued crying. With a snarl then, Thomas left and James curled up in a ball, sobbing as the pain on the left half of his face burned scars into his flesh, the scars of his tears scarring deeper than the burns. They burned, they hurt, he was in absolute agony and he knew that the scars made by the silver fire would not cease to cause him pain forevermore. He cried and he sobbed as he desperately tried to claw away the burning scars on his face, but the agonizing tears he cried burned on his scarred skin, adding to the torment it provided him with. He was terrified, felt somewhat betrayed as Thomas was once a good friend of his. Sure, he may have been the one (another mistake) to make the friendship break, and perhaps he had deserved some of the torture, but he had not believed that he deserved this punishment. He hadn't thought Thomas would go this far. And, he thought, perhaps he did deserve a part of this. Perhaps he did deserve the pain that wouldn't leave, the ultimate curse of the sun god. His eyes were shut tight due to the immense pain he felt. He sobbed and he cried and he screamed as he kept himself curled up in a ball as the pain kept burning and stinging and stabbing, and he fell unconscious at some point, wishing, once again, that he were dead. Everything blurred into one, every pain and frustration, the agony of failure and mistakes, the misery of betrayal and it all blurred into each other, creating an indistinguishable mess of it all which he couldn't navigate, and even in his unconscious state the pain of it all crashed down on him and crushed him under its weight. 

 

Aaron sat in the field, Pyrite's head in his lap as he scratched behind its ear, a calming and continuous motion keeping him in that numb and mindless state where his mind didn't force him to worry but he knew he would have to confront it eventually. He stopped scratching behind Pyrite's ear and sighed, letting his mind go and consume him like so many times before. While he knew it wasn't healthy as it had been a habit he had gotten in his time alone in his prison, it was the only way he could work through this on his own, or at least that was the conclusion he had come to.

His mind drifted back to what the spirits said, their words echoing in his mind and he picked at the hood of his cloak and pulled it off rather decisively, feeling vulnerable immediately thereafter. He gulped and let his hand drift through his hair, a most unnatural feeling. He felt almost naked, not having his hood on. He had scarcely ever taken it off in the past 25 years and it just didn't feel right to take it off. He was vulnerable now, now that his face could be seen unobscured by the magic of the cloak. A god could find him and kill him if he were to take it off in the mortals' realm. His entire body was tense and he got up from the ground, startling Pyrite who then shuffled away to join the other woolmilkpigs who were lying in the shadows of the trees. He took in a deep breath, his hands itching to pull the hood back over his head, but he refrained from doing so, forcefully balling up his hands into fists and keeping them tightly at his side as he approached the door out of the fields with decisive steps. He opened the map of the palace, finding that Hercules sat in the library, and he made for it.

As he opened the door to the library, he found Hercules deep inside it, at the very end and Aaron approached him with a smile. Hercules looked up at him, his expression unreadable, which perturbed Aaron. But he smiled regardless as he sat down next to Hercules who was reading a thick book on learning from one's own mistakes as well as those of others, and Aaron was almost surprised to find this book in Alexander's library. There was a visible blush on Hercules' cheeks despite his otherwise unreadable expression.

"You have your hood off," Hercules stated, less a question and more a curious observation. Aaron nodded with a sheepish smile, incredibly uncomfortable.

"Don't you like it?" Aaron asked, a pit in his stomach. Hercules' brows furrowed.

"I do, but... you never have it off..." Hercules stated a question implied through his silence.

"Yeah, I... I thought that maybe I could... you know... show more of myself. I mean, especially to you since- uh, nevermind, that was stupid. Just... to show myself more and... stuff..." he said but Hercules frowned.

"And you're... okay like this?" he asked and Aaron shifted.

"What, don't you like it?" Aaron asked in return and Hercules shook his head.

"It doesn't matter if _I_ like it, I'm far more concerned with your comfort in the matter. You never really take off your hood, it's just... I want to make sure you're okay..." Hercules replied and Aaron smiled at him, the words of the spirits echoing in his mind.

"It's sweet how you worry for me, love," Aaron said and Hercules immediately perked up as Aaron called him 'love', "But you don't need to. Everything's fine!" Aaron smiled and kissed Hercules who was confused but kissed Aaron back after a second or two. Then Aaron deepened the kiss, an oddity as it had always been Hercules in the past to deepen their kisses. And Aaron went further, making the kiss more passionate, more heated, something which greatly confused Hercules. Aaron wasn't one to initiate anything sexual, he scarcely ever did anything sexual with Hercules, with which Hercules was fine considering the only experience Aaron had with it had been much less than ideal. Hercules had always hoped to show Aaron a more romantic (and poetic) side of this, and what Aaron was doing was about the complete opposite of what Hercules had had in mind for this. He wasn't sure about what was going on and, when Aaron went a surprising step further Hercules took the wandering hand and thus halted Aaron's movements, who looked at him confused and almost hurt, which in turn opened up a pit inside Hercules' stomach and he gulped.

"A-are you sure you're comfortable with this, Aaron?" he asked and Aaron's brows furrowed.

"I-if I weren't okay with it I wouldn't do it- Are you not okay with it?" Aaron's eyes widened and he shifted back.

"No, I mean, I'm comfortable with it as long as you are but... are you one hundred percent sure you want to take this step?" he asked, "I mean... do we trust each other enough for this?" What he said made no sense, even to him, but he felt like he needed to say this.

"Wh-what do you mean? Of course, I trust you! D-... Wh-... D-don't you? Wh-what... what made you say this?" Aaron asked, something in his heart stinging and hurting and his breathing became a bit quicker and shallow, but not close to dangerous. Hercules' eyes widened in a panic.

"No, I mean- I do trust you, just-... I mean, do you trust me enough for that?" he asked and Aaron's brows furrowed further and he parted his lips in disbelief.

"Of course, I trust you! I- I trust you with everything I have and... Why... Why did you think I don't- I- I don't understand what would cause this?" Aaron asked and Hercules frowned with some shame, looking to the side with guilt.

"I mean... it's stupid but... I-... Okay, I had this conversation with James earlier and... It's dumb, I told him that if you trust him enough that maybe you'll show him around the palace and then-... then he asked if you showed me the whole palace and-... well, I realized that you didn't and..." Hercules sighed and Aaron nodded, understanding.

"You came to the conclusion that I don't trust you enough," he stated and Hercules nodded. Aaron frowned and kissed Hercules' forehead.

"It's just... I know, it's probably really stupid but-... I just feel like... like that's how I can measure your trust in people, how much you show them of the palace and-... I know it's probably stupid, but what other way do I have to measure your trust in me? It sounds like I know nothing about you, which I like to think I do know, but- but, ugh, I just... and I felt like... like if I tell you that I feel your trust in me is measured by how much of the palace you showed me, then somehow it's like blackmailing- no, wait- guilt-tripping you into showing me, which I don't want. I don't want you to show me out of guilt, I just... I don't really know what to do and... Wow, this is stupid" Hercules rambled but Aaron kissed his forehead again.

"It's not stupid, not at all. I trust you, Hercules, with my life, my heart, my soul, my body and my mind. I'd leave all of me to you, secure in the knowledge that you would take care of me. I know you and I trust you. I love you and I never want to make you feel like I don't trust you, which I do, with my life," Aaron said and kissed Hercules. "Now, will you let me love you, love?"

Hercules, despite feeling uncomfortable at Aaron calling him 'love' for some reason, smiled softly and nodded, relieved and kissed him back, feeling, distantly, that something was wrong, but Aaron was quick to make him forget about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're confused about Hercules being uncomfortable about Aaron calling him 'love' instead of 'heart'... a hint... king...


	33. Chapter 33

Aaron shifted, uncomfortable. His hood still off his head, his hands itching, his fingers hurting, to put it back over his head. He felt vulnerable, naked, he hated every second he had his hood off, every second he was visible to all, though it was only Hercules who was ever nearby. He gripped tightly at his own arms, to keep his hands from moving to his hood to pull it over his head. Each time his hands were so close to giving in to the itch and pull the hood over his head voices of the spirits from the Winding Woods kept whispering horribly to him.

_He says he loves you, but he really doesn't. He loves your face, but not you. And you refuse to show it to him! How can you expect him to stay for **you**? He will leave you if he can't see your face!_

And these echoing whispers kept his hands from pulling the hood over his face, forcing him into this horrible nakedly vulnerable state. His fingers hurt from the itch within them, and he gripped at his arms more tightly. It hurt, but he kept his grip tight. He knew the spirits were wrong, he believed James when he said that he shouldn't listen to them, that they weren't speaking the truth, but everything inside his mind asked _what if they did speak the truth?_ The thought haunted him, keeping his hands tightly at his arms, keeping his mind occupied, consuming it whole, leaving nothing, scarcely a piece of mind unconsumed by the uncertainty that question alone brought upon him. The discomfort at the thought. How he almost felt betrayed. It was a spiral towards an abyss, one he had sworn never to wander towards, but as he slid down this spiral he found he had hardly a say in the matter.

He was startled out of his train of thought as Hercules walked back into the library. Aaron realized he had been staring at the same book in his hands for at least an hour. He felt dirty, like there was dried blood all over him. He scratched at his arms, trying to get it off, but it just wouldn't, no matter how hard he scratched and rubbed. He whimpered quietly as he drew blood, immediately covering the spot with hid cloak, hiding it from Hercules, which would have been a ridiculous notion just a day ago.

Hercules had a short note in his hand, reading over it with a raised brow in either interest or confusion, or perhaps a combination of the two, Aaron observed. Hercules looked up from the note once he arrived at where Aaron was sitting, his face changing into a curious expression, as though he was noticing something. His brows furrowed in worry, but he seemed to disregard the thought or, worse, the observation that had worried him. Hercules handed the note over to Aaron who skimmed over its little content with a brow raised in curiosity.

The note simply said that James would be in the moon if they wanted to move on to the water temple by the washed away fisher town. It said nothing more than that and Aaron hummed with a frown. He nodded, though.

"I suppose we could take a break, what do you think?" Aaron asked and Hercules raised a brow in confusion. Hercules stayed silent for a moment with a questioning look, almost as though he were disturbed.

"You want to take a break?" he asked, "I thought you wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery as soon as possible?"

"I do, but, you know, we can't keep pushing without a pause for ever. A few days break, what do you say?" Aaron smiled sweetly. Hercules hummed, scratching at his arm, suddenly unsure of himself.

"I mean, if you want. I suppose we can put in a few days to relax," Hercules replied and Aaron smiled delighted, a false smile that Hercules recognized. He opened his mouth to address it, but promptly shut it as his mind scolded him not to, as he didn't know whether Aaron wanted it addressed or not. He left it, thinking he was secure in his belief that Aaron would tell him anything that bothered him. At least, he hoped he could be secure in his belief.

But he couldn't help but notice this strange feeling, something he recognized, but which had long passed, only to resurface this very moment. He felt a distance to Aaron. There was something between them that just didn't fit right there. The distance he felt between them was small, something he knew, somehow, would be something he would be able to cross and fill again, leaving it behind, but... it felt wrong, whatever that thing was between them that had created this small distance, and it was microscopically small. However wrong this felt, his mind refused to let him address the matter.

And thus a few days passed, almost making a week, of slow days, primarily composed of Aaron taking care of the palace with Hercules trailing behind him quietly. The days were passed quietly, neither of them able to initiate a conversation and, usually, this would have been fine, but both of them felt the awkwardness in their silence, which made both of them incredibly uncomfortable. Time spent together had never felt this weird. Aaron still had this uncomfortable itch in his hands, which only worsened over the days, as well as the echoing voices of the spirits becoming louder. And he still felt dirty, he still saw the dried blood all over his body and, no matter how much he bathed with Hercules, how much he tried to clean himself, how much he scratched at his arms and his body and drew blood, the dried blood he saw and felt, the dirt wouldn't get off. It didn't matter what he tried, he stayed stubbornly dirty. He initiated sex more often over the days, and felt filthy immediately thereafter, after each time, something which greatly confused him. It shouldn't make him feel this way, should it? He was sure he was supposed to feel good afterwards, but he never did He always felt dirty, filthy, uncomfortable and it made him feel guilty, because it was _Hercules_ and he was supposed to feel _good_ with him, wasn't he? That's how this was supposed to work, wasn't it? Wasn't it?

 

Within the moon, James lay still in the same position as Thomas had left him in six days ago. He kept crying, his voice gone, all his tears he could possibly cry were shed in a small pool of salty water around him, and the only noise he could make was a quiet, hoarse cough, not even fully recognisable as such. It was a pathetic sight. The left side of his face still burned and hurt horribly, he was still in utter agony, felt the bitter betrayal of a long lost friendship acting out in a most tormenting fashion, and Thomas couldn't have done something worse to him. The pain was utter torture, the agony blinding.

On the sixth day, he felt a slight relief in the pain. It wasn't gone by any means, but he clearly felt it relieved a bit. He scrambled to the eye of his moon, the spot from which he watched the world below. There was a railing, for aesthetic purposes mostly. He grabbed onto it, pulling himself upwards onto his weak legs, which could hardly carry him. His legs were trembling as the left side of his face kept burning. He cautiously brushed over his left face, hissing as the pain worsened. He felt the scar tissue so deeply and distinctly in his flesh. His hand began trembling. He opened his eyes. A shock ran through his entire body. He lifted his hand in front of the left side of his face making sure he couldn't see it with his right eye, he ran it over the scar tissue, attempting to ignore the pain, trying to focus, so desperately trying to focus on his powers. His left hand glowed brightly in front of his eye.

But he saw nothing.

He was blind on his left eye.

He grew disoriented, having lost his depth perception. He began to tremble more in shock now, than because of pain. Thomas made him blind on his left eye. The realisation of this slowly seeped into James' very bones, a shudder through his very veins. The cruelty, he felt it distinctly, became more horrible, that was bestowed upon him. A pit, an abyss opened in his stomach, though not only one of despair. It was an abyss half of despair and half of loathing. Unadulterated loathing. Hate, it began to bubble so deeply inside of him and paired itself with his agony and despair. His breathing grew heavy, he closed his eyes, and hoarsely, he cried out, he screamed, but no sound came out of his hoarse, dry throat, nothing could push past his lips, even creep up his throat. It felt suffocating.

He felt bile rise up in his throat and he vomited. The pain he felt in his chest, caused by his loathing, his despair, his agony, consumed his entire body and mind. He broke down again, hand gripping tightly at the railing, entire body trembling and shivering. He gasped.

He gulped and shook his head. With trembling legs, he attempted to get up again, with hot determination fuelled by all he felt. He gasped again, sucking in the air greedily. He almost collapsed again, but he was able to keep himself steady. He kept breathing shallowly, trying to get his breath under control. He gasped in deep breaths, blowing them out shallowly and slowly, but surely, he got his breathing under control.

He ran a hand over the left side of his face, hissing at the stinging pain. The pain became a lot more tolerable, yet was still undeniably present. He waved a hand in front of his left eye, but he still saw nothing. He sighed, it hadn't been just a panic reaction of his body at the pain, he really was blind on the left eye. He scowled and glowered. He glared through the eye of his moon, the world below was cast in darkness. He gave a quick glance, distracted slightly by the pain. He felt weak, felt how keeping the moon glowing, ate away at his power. He needed to preserve his energy and, with a defeated sigh he used minimum power to pull a veil over the moon. He could no longer see the world below, and thus it was a new moon. He stumbled back, as a bed in form of a crescent moon appeared behind him. He was pulled to it by the darkness and tucked in most comfortably, a veil of darkness falling over his eyes and he fell asleep immediately. He noticed not the gods hushing into the realm below, by his new moon, veiled in darkness. They were gods he didn't know, sent to hunt, sent to find, like hounds. But he was much too exhausted, the dark veil of the new moon too tempting, to notice the gods. He scarcely felt their presence, the veil too thick to let him feel anything.

His power, as few, or perhaps none would know, did not come from light, as Thomas' powers, which he sometimes overused, leading to a solar eclipse, but it came from the darkness. He used his powers to create light, imitating Thomas, but his true powers lay in the darkness. As a beacon of hope, he could find his way through any darkness and find where he needed to be, find his way out of it. It was strange, almost, that he used his powers to escape the darkness, the thing he gained his powers from, to escape into the light, that which drained his powers most. He had kept the moon glowing and glowing, even during the day for weeks upon weeks. His powers were drained almost completely, and he felt incredibly weak because of it. He had kept his moon glowing to prevent any god under the Judge's orders to pass into the realm of mortals' without his knowledge. They knew his powers were great, and that he wasn't on their side. They knew too well that he had left their side and gone to Aaron's the moment he had disobeyed the Judge's orders. The news travelled like pheromones across the realm, alerting every god that he was now a threat, an enemy, a foe, no longer an ally. He knew this well, he had felt it distinctly. But now he was forced to rest in the darkness, that which gave him all his power. That, which made him a beacon of hope. The darkness. It would seem paradox to anyone else but him, that he was a being of darkness, yet was supposed to be a beacon of hope. One would think that Thomas, a being of light, would be the beacon of hope, as light was most often associated with hope. But Thomas could never find his way out of a dark hole, let alone lead anyone out of it. Hope, after all, tended to be the very last thing anyone ever held onto, quite stubbornly so. And hope tended to be needed most in the darkest of environments, be they actually dark or just figuratively so. And he provided them with hope. As he slept so soundlessly, he dreamt of the day he came into being, the day he began existing.

_A boy, nearly seventeen years of age, succumbed to the pressure of his peers. There were rumours and stories about the Winding Woods, how no one who ever entered them ever returned. The demons that lived within the woods would not permit you to leave and, instead, would play with their most recent victim a cruel game with a fatal aim. The demons would make it seem as though their victim had a chance to gain their former life, outside of the woods. They told their victims to fetch things for them, or they gave them a riddle, a task or a puzzle to solve. Now, these riddles or puzzles were no small ones. The riddles exceeded their victims' knowledge just by a hair most of the time, or exceeded their very comprehension of the world by galaxies. Their puzzles were tricky, not impossible by any standard, but the pieces were made of ice, and had a tendency to melt just as they would lay the last piece. The fetch quests were equally as impossible to complete. The items the demons sought, or claimed they did, were often already in their possession, or didn't exist at all. And the tasks were simply... quite impossible. It could be a task such as choosing a single thing that is supposed to fill a whole room, or retrieving an object from the middle of a large rug without stepping onto it, or fighting with a full cup of water while not ever spilling a drop of it. If you were lucky, you were given or could ask for a hint as to how to solve them, but more often than not, those hints were too cryptic to be of any help._

_And the consequences of failing at fulfilling those tasks, riddles, puzzles or fetch quests? You would be forced to wander the woods for ever, die, your remains being absorbed into the woods, and your spirit becoming one of its demons._

_The boy had always trembled at such stories, been terrified at the very notion of entering the woods and never returning. But his friends, they still dared to call themselves his friends, had dared him to go into the woods and cross them and come out on the other side. All alone, during the night. And, stupid as he was, he had agreed. Nothing could be done now, he thought as he wandered aimlessly through the woods._

_Suddenly, there was a cracking of sticks under heavy feet, the crunching of wood being pushed to the side by strong claws. The boy stumbled backwards, as he found himself staring into the red and yellow circled and squared eyes of a horrible demon, with crooked teeth contorted into a cracking grin over its head out of which trees sprouted that were made of thorns. Its fur was made of rotten flesh and leaves, maggots and blood and limbs falling from its mouth as it opened it with a snorting cackle._

_"See here," it said, "A boy not seventeen years of age. What brings you here upon this sacred earth? Within these winding woods, whirling in the wind? A leaf, lost while it danced with the wind, perhaps? What brought you here from whence you came?"_

_The boy stumbled back and fell onto the ground and began stuttering, "I-I-I-" but he was unsuccessful. The demon cackled again._

_"A perhaps you should give me your name, little lost leaf," the demon cackled and held out its hand. The boy stared at it and shook his head violently, fearing for his life._

_"I-I won't give you my name, though politely you asked, I fear for my life should I hand it over," the boy replied and the demon's head spun around with sickening pops and crackles and the boy covered his ears._

_"Little lost leaf, you came here without permission, without asking, without gift. Now how do you expect me to treat an intruder?" the demon cackled in a mocking voice and the boy trembled in fear._

_"P-please, I didn't mean to intrude, I didn't know this was sacred earth. I knew rumours of demons and spirits, but never did I learn this earth was sacred!" the boy pleaded, "I beg of you, forgive just this once, and I will do all I can to ensure you are never bothered again!"_

_The demon tilted its head to the side._

_"Now, I can't just let you be. You are too much fun, all pleading and begging uselessly, to let go just yet... Ah, I have a brilliant idea! Listen, little lost leaf, I shall give you a task, a simple task, it is what you want after all, and if you can complete it, I shall leave you as you are and let you leave these winding woods. However, should you fail, it shall be entirely within my right to do with you whatever I please," the demon grinned evilly at the boy who gulped and nodded, terrified._

_"Just please-"_

_"Ah, do not interrupt, little lost leaf. Your task shall be that, what you wanted: Find your way out of these woods, and you are free. It should be a simple task, shouldn't it?" and with that, the demon disappeared._

_The boy spent hours upon hours wandering through the woods. He knew its length and width, he had walked the border to it a couple hundred times, strangely drawn to the within. And thus he knew that he should have been at the other side hours ago. He knew the demon must have put a spell on the woods, but that also meant that he would never get out of these woods again. He still tried, for more and more hours, wandering through the forest into the same direction as before, but never coming a step closer, it seemed, to his destination._

_He sank down at a nearby tree. Dejected, he was so close to accepting that he failed, he was so close to accepting his fate, accept death, or whatever horrible things the demon had planned to do to him should he fail. In his despair, a tear rolled down his cheek as he began crying. His tears reflected the light of the moon above and gathered, impossibly, into a small puddle next to him. He heard the cracking and screeching of the demon, a second away from accepting his fate, when his eye caught the light of the moon being reflected from the puddle of tears. He looked upwards. The moon was perfectly visible from where he sat, and it was beautiful. He could see a portion of the stars next to it, but the moon glowed so much brighter than them._

_This was the moment, in which James began to exist. He wasn't quite aware of it, but he was within the puddle of tears next to the boy. He wanted to help, he felt it, and he could somehow manipulate the moon. The boy stared at the moon in awe._

_A full moon, as always, but it seemed so much bigger, so much more defined and he found that a smile had crept onto his lips in awe. All his despair and dread seemed to have been quieted at once. A moment of peace. A moment of light in the darkness. A spec of hope. Hope. The boy didn't want to die tonight, not with such a beautiful moon in the sky, not with something so beautiful which he wanted to see again after tonight._

_The demon appeared behind him and cackled, "Have you given up, little lost leaf?"_

_The boy stood up and stared at it defiantly._

_"I haven't. I admit, I find myself a tad lost, perhaps. You wouldn't mind a small hint in this matter?" the boy asked politely and the demon cackled._

_"Ah, I shall see what I can do for you... You should try, little lost leaf, to head for not for dawn, but not for the sun either," the demon cackled and the boy nodded._

_"Then, would you be so kind to tell me: where is north?" the boy asked and the demon cackled and screeched like an old house. It pointed in one direction and the boy nodded. "Thank you," he said and the demon watched him curiously and disappeared._

_The boy, knowing where north was and looking to his right and left, decided he knew the answer to the task and began heading west. Dawn, sunrise, was east, and the demon had told him not to head for dawn, not to head east. He knew where he had to go, and he began wandering westwards. Soon, he found himself recognizing odd trees and pathways, realizing this was where he had come from initially. Excited, he ran for the exit as he finally found it, jumping with joy as he managed to exit the woods, hearing the demon inside cursing and yelling, the trees moving ominously in the wind. James stood not too far behind him, a happy smile on his face, one part of his purpose found._

James smiled in his sleep as the dream repeated.

Outside the veiled new moon, gods and goddesses were flying or climbing down to the mortals' realm, searching and looking for this mortal about whom they had heard so many things. They were all endlessly curious as to who this mortal was, but they did also harbour an intense hate for his whole being without knowing who he was. He had been a threat to them once, and threatened to become one again it appeared. All of them wanted this mortal to pay for his crimes against the gods with his life. But they would have to bring him to the Judge first, as were his orders. With glee, the gods realised that the Judge must want to execute him personally and they each wanted to catch the mortal first to gain the reward for it, whatever that might be, hopefully having something to do with murdering him and sending him into the realm of the dead.

But not all gods were part of this manhunt. The goddesses of beauty and fertility, the latter only thanks to the persuasion of her wife, were not part of this, as well as the god of death. The god of death was fairly obvious, he was a grumpy god who scarcely showed his face outside of his own realm. No one knew why this god was always angry and antisocial, but they all collectively assumed it was because of being the god of death must be a dreary job. If they just knew the truth. The gods did question the goddesses of beauty and fertility, however, as they had really no reason which was obvious, not to participate. They didn't explain themselves either, leaving the other gods to assume the worst or the best of them, as they inevitably always did. Gods gossiped a lot. They gossiped as much as they were selfish, so it wasn't a surprise to anyone.

However, some of the gods did bring up the question of why the god of death wasn't helping them. After all, as the god of death, he would be able to kill him no matter what and claim his spirit and punish him for eternity, which they assumed was the exact thing the Judge wanted. Some came to the safe conclusion that the Judge wanted to kill the mortal himself and would not accept his death by anyone else. Others came to the conclusion that the god of death just didn't care about what anyone wanted from him, and it was a valid conclusion to have come to, as they knew well enough how his character traits were.

Though, in reality, the god of death simply didn't care. He was exempt from the rules that bound his particular kind.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry for not being able to update the last two times. I had to study for a spanish test, had to study for a german exam and still have to work on this paper (I think that's the closest I'll come to actually communicate in english what that thing is, it's a big thing though) which is due this friday and I am panicking. I really needed to write this as a sort of escape from that. Fuck I just realised I have a spanish exam next monday... Fuck it, you'll still get another chapter this coming weekend, I'll manage somehow! And after the exam wave is over you can count on regular, about once a week updates again, which is something I'm also looking forward to! Because I love writing for your guys! Anyways, enough of my personal struggles in life, you didn't come for that. Please enjoy the chapter and I thank you for your patience with me!

Aaron's spirits were low. He was wide awake, though it was the middle of the night. He couldn't sleep, a nightmare still fresh in his mind. He was trembling, scratching at his upper arms, his vision was red, he could only see blood, blood everywhere, dried on his skin and he couldn't get it off. It felt disgusting, filthy, he felt horribly filthy. Nothing he did made him feel clean. His breathing came out shuddered and shallow. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks and his sobbing, quiet as he tried to keep it, seemed to echo and tear through the room like a storm to his ears. His heartbeat beat so loudly in his ears, deafening, almost, as his mind forced him to relive the dream, the nightmare, still fresh in his memory.

_He couldn't see a thing, could hardly hear a thing, and his movement was restricted. His head shot around, but it was such a pain. His body was itching. He needed to move, but he couldn't. He scratched at his arms, his legs, scratched at them until he felt blood coming forth, trying to scratch that damn itch that was driving him mad, but he could never quite reach it. He hit his legs against the wall, but it only ended up breaking his leg into pieces the more he hit it against the wall. He did the same with his left arm, breaking it as well in the process. Tears streamed out of his eyes and down his cheeks as the itch just wouldn't go away. He scratched at his head, pulled on his hair and ripped it out with pieces of his skin. It hurt, a pain hot and sharp ran and flowed over him like burning hot lead, liquid gold being poured over him, yet it did nothing to relieve this damn itch that was driving him mad. He needed to move, he needed to get out, to get out, to get out, to get OUT!_

He didn't know why he dreamt such a thing, it made no sense to him, but it hurt him so much. There was something in the core of his soul that was aching as the being he was in his dream, because he was sure it had not been him. This ache within his soul made him twist in pain and press a hand to his heart to try and alleviate the pain.

The ruckus he made must've been loud, as he felt Hercules stir beside him. He immediately tensed up, he didn't want Hercules to see him in such a state, a state in which he hadn't been in years and which had hit him with such sudden intensity, without giving him the mercy of preparing himself for such an attack, that he didn't know what to do with himself. The memory of just a few hours earlier came to mind, when Hercules had stopped him from initiating sex, which had hit Aaron like a shovel to the face or a kick to the stomach. Hercules stirred awake and groggily looked around, confusion evident in his eyes, looking for what might have woken him up. His eyes finally met Aaron's who had forgotten how to breathe at this point. Tears were still coming out of his eyes, but he stopped his breathing completely, likely in an unconscious attempt to silence himself and make it stop. Hercules slowly sat up and shifted closer to Aaron, clearly sensing the pain of fear and terror in his lover's very soul. He put an arm around Aaron and pulled him closer, pulling his head to his chest, directly over his heart. Aaron heard the quiet, yet steady and deep vibration of Hercules' calm heartbeat and, by some miracle, it calmed Aaron down. He was still shaken and confused by the dream, but the soft and steady pace of Hercules' heartbeat made him remember to breathe, made his breathing calmer, made his heart adapt to the calm beating pattern. Eventually, Aaron was calm, with a renewed appreciation for the bond he shared with Hercules. A blush crept across his cheeks as he reciprocated the hug Hercules had engulfed him in, partially to show he was responsive and partially to show Hercules that he was helping him greatly. Hercules hummed softly into Aaron's hair and gently stroke his back.

"Nightmare?" he suddenly broke the calm silence and Aaron found himself nodding. "I'm here for you. Whatever you may need," he paused and shifted to make Aaron lie down on his chest instead of leaning against it, "whatever you may need, I will give it to you, just say the word, and it's done."

Aaron found a smile creeping onto his lips, soft and gentle, like his lover, and his smile got brighter as he recognized the similarity and a gentle huff, which was supposed to be a laugh but couldn't have come out as such seeing at how Aaron lay with his mouth partially covered, and thus his sounds muffled, by Hercules' chest.

"Hercules?" he dared in this silent moment, quietly praying, to whom he didn't know, that the voices in his head, the voices of the spirits, wouldn't come back that very moment to make him reconsider and stop his mouth from spilling his thoughts, "I... I need to talk to you..." at this, Hercules prepared himself for whatever Aaron needed to tell him, "I haven't been honest... by lie of omission... I... I haven't been feeling too well... I don't... You know how I used to have my hood cover my head and such?" Hercules nodded and Aaron continued, his voice growing weary as he felt the echo of the spirits' voices attempt at a comeback, "Well... since the Winding Woods... I never told you, but... the spirits James warned us from talked to me there. They..." he laughed nervously, "James wasn't kidding when he said how dangerous they were..." Aaron chanced a quick look up at Hercules who had a stoic expression on his face, an expression Aaron knew meant he was listening intently. "They... You must know, one of my biggest fears- if not my biggest fear - is... well, to be... I don't know how to put it... I don't want you to think ill of me for... for the things I didn't feel... perhaps when I should've felt them the most."

Hercules waited a moment, to see if Aaron were to continue, and he finally opened his mouth, "Wh-what you didn't feel?" he asked, at which Aaron realised that Hercules was as uncertain about this as he.

"I... I told you about my parents..." Aaron began and Hercules nodded.

"How they were executed in front of you..." Hercules added and Aaron gulped with a solemn nod.

"And... I had never felt particularly off about... you know, not feeling anything at their deaths, or at anyone's death. Even Alexander's possible death. I used to feel a bit frightened at the prospect, because I had always thought once he was dead there would be no one else with me, but now that I have you, the prospect of him dying doesn't frighten me as much. I certainly still don't like the thought, I do not want him to die and even though I haven't felt his presence in so long, I still feel the same bond between me and him... But that's not the point," he explained and Hercules nodded while Aaron shifted, "Well, it kinda is, too, but it's not the whole thing. When we were in the Winding Woods - you remember how James told us there would be spirits in there, dangerous ones? - they... spoke to me and... they said these awful things and... and I believed what they said. It sounds so stupid, and it is, I'm so stupid for believing what they said- but-... it didn't sound wrong, it sounded like it would be correct, like they would be telling the truth..." Aaron tried his best to explain his current situation, but he felt like it didn't come across properly, like he didn't properly communicate his feelings to Hercules. Hercules frowned.

"What... what did they say?" he asked and Aaron pressed his face into Hercules' chest. He knew he should just tell him and get it over with, but at this point the voices returned, and began their torment of him anew, planting seeds of doubt in his head, and he knew, that he wouldn't be able to tell Hercules if he didn't tell him now. He summoned all the courage he could find within himself and opened his mouth.

"Th-they said... that you don't love me..." as much as Hercules wanted to protest this point, he had to let Aaron finish, "That you're only with me for my beauty and... that... if I wanted you to stay with me and... and love me, that I would have to show my face to you, because I hide it, even from you." Hercules' eyes were wide in horror. Aaron gulped and began trembling in Hercules' arms, a new wave of tears coming over him, which he tried to repress. "A-and... when we... had...s-" Hercules nodded, knowing what Aaron meant without him stating it, "I... I know I'm supposed to like it, it was supposed to feel good. I know I should, but... It didn't, it never did. I might forget it while we're doing it, but afterwards I just... always felt so disgusting, filthy, dirty, like there is something on me, like blood and it's dry and no matter what I try I just can't get it off, I just can't make it go away!" Aaron was sobbing at this point, pulling himself away from Hercules and sitting back away from him. "I love you, with all my heart I love you, and I know I should feel good with you when we're doing it, but-" he interrupted himself, "That already sounds awful, that I have to put a 'but' there, but... I'm sorry, but... I hate it. It doesn't feel good like it should with you, and I hate myself for not feeling good with you and-..." he breathed, flinching as Hercules tried to shift closer, "I just... please forgive me... I... I really don't deserve you... and you deserve better than me..."

Hercules' eyes were wide in confusion and fear for Aaron. In this very moment, so many things made sense at once when they hadn't in the past days, and he wasn't sure how to react. On one hand, he rejoiced that Aaron had finally told him what was wrong, on the other hand, what ended up _being_ wrong made him feel sick to the stomach. Aaron had forced himself to do it with him. A bolt of shock ran through him at the memory that Aaron had done the same thing with the king who wanted to marry him a bit over twenty-five years ago. Now he realised why he had felt so uncomfortable when Aaron had called him 'love' instead of 'my heart' as he otherwise would have: because that was what he had called the king while pretending to be in love with him. He began trembling, and he surged forward to embrace Aaron in a tight hug. Aaron flinched and let out a surprised gasp, eyes wide and watery, staring.

"I..." he tried, but words came to him only in a struggle, "Aaron, I... I had no idea. I-... no, that's a lie. I... I think I knew something like this was the case, but... I never wanted it to be true..." then a bolt of realisation ran through him and he pulled away just enough to look at Aaron, "Is this also why you kept your hood off?" he asked and Aaron reluctantly nodded, keeping his eyes to the ground in shame. Hercules' eyes widened at this even more.

"I'm sorry..." Aaron muttered, but Hercules violently shook his head.

"No, no, no! Don't be sorry! You don't have to be sorry for anything!" Hercules insisted but Aaron's gaze still held shame.

"I just... I thought that if I did this... all that the spirits said... then you'd really love me..." Aaron replied shamefully and Hercules kept shaking his head. "Not just for my beauty..."

"Oh, Aaron, I don't love you for your beauty," Hercules whispered softly, "I love _you_." This caused an angry, or perhaps frustrated outburst in Aaron.

"You can't tell me that this," he pointed at his face and then down his body, "wasn't everything you loved! You can't tell me that in the past twenty-five years you didn't ever want to see my face again! Y-you can't tell me that you love _me_ for who I _am_! I'm a horrible person- I- I felt nothing at the execution of my parents! I felt nothing seeing people die, or seeing their corpses! I felt nothing when _I_ killed someone! When _I_ was the direct cause for their death! I fantasized about torturing that bastard of a king for fuck's sake! How can you love someone like _this_?!" he yelled in desperation, tears running down his cheeks, and he broke down sobbing. "How can you love someone like _me_?" he said, more softly, hiccuping as the tears streamed out of his eyes, as he trembled and gripped at his upper arms, wanting to bury himself alive somewhere. Hercules watched this outburst calmly, said nothing until Aaron had finished. He then reached out and gently placed a hand on Aaron's shoulder, gently pulling him close into another hug, letting him cry, rubbing comforting circles on his back.

He waited until Aaron's sobbing became quieter, then he began, with a soft and gentle tone, "I love you. With all my heart, I love you. There is nothing in this world I love more than I do you. I would give everything I have, everything, to make you happy. And I wish, I truly wish, that I could make these awful feelings you have go away. I don't care that you killed one person and were responsible for two more deaths; I know the stories behind that, and I know it couldn't have ended in any other way, and I don't fault you. You did the only thing you could: help. And you did. You helped those kingdoms, freed them from the terror, from the tyranny, from living in constant fear, from these people. I can love you because I know you, and I love who you are. You are imperfect, but you strive to be better, you didn't only accept that you were imperfect, but you actively tried to better yourself, and I admire that. I admire you. I love you," Hercules whispered softly. Aaron's trembling worsened.

"I feel nothing at another's death..." he mumbled and Hercules nodded.

"I... You should know..." Hercules breathed, "You're not the only one..."

This caught Aaron's attention. He looked up at Hercules, who looked to the side, almost in shame, but more in regret.

"Wh-what do you mean?" he asked and Hercules sighed.

"I know only a few gods, though I'm unsure about them, who feel anything at another's death... Alexander and the god of Death, but I'm not sure if that really is so... The muses don't feel anything at another's death and... I don't either..." Hercules explained and Aaron's eyes widened, "At least until now... I don't want you to die, Aaron. I love you, and I know I'll be devastated if you were to die- when you'll die... I have never cared for anyone else's death, it wasn't something I feared to happen to anyone. I never wished it unto anyone, but only because- no, that's a lie. I had wished it upon the king who wanted to marry you. I had hated every second he was touching you, pleasuring himself with your body, thinking you were his to- to- to use. At every word he said to you, I wanted nothing more than to strangle him with- with his own intestines..." he trembled in anger as he admitted this and Aaron suddenly saw Hercules in a new light that he hadn't ever even considered before. He had never assumed that Hercules was so similar to him.

"H-hercules... I... never knew..." Aaron mumbled and Hercules shook his head.

"I suppose I felt shame for it as you did... But now you know, and please take comfort in that knowledge, that you are not the only one who... who is like this... If that makes us bad, then let's be bad. If that makes us broken, then let's be broken! Who cares! Being broken doesn't make us worse than someone who isn't," Hercules said and kissed Aaron's forehead, sneakily grabbing the hood on Aaron's back and pulling it over Aaron's head, letting the magic of the hood obscure his face and he smiled down at Aaron, who stared at him in surprise. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable. It's bad enough that I let you force yourself to sleep with me, to let you do anything you weren't ready for. I never want you to feel like you did ever again."

"But..." Aaron tried, "What if I'm never ready for anything?"

"Then so be it," Hercules shrugged, "I won't derive any pleasure from anything you're not comfortable with... And I think I'll know now when you're not actually ready for anything. Keep your hood on, it makes you feel safe, I know that now, and I want nothing more than for you to be happy and safe. I wish I could make you feel that on my own, but until that day comes, should it ever come, I will wait patiently and just be there for you... Anything you need, just say the word and it's done," he said softly and Aaron couldn't help the smile on his lips. The voices of the spirits were still echoing in the back of his mind, but they were quieter now, much quieter, and he looked up at Hercules, somehow even more in love than he already was.

"Then kiss me?" he asked and Hercules kissed his head at which Aaron giggled, "A real kiss, my heart," and when he said that, Hercules smiled and kissed him with gentle passion, one hand running through Aaron's hair, the other holding him around the waist, pulling him close. Aaron smiled into the kiss, as did Hercules, who felt the tears that had been on Aaron's cheeks and were now in the process of drying. Sparks exploded in Aaron's chest, his heart beating in a flutter. Hercules felt much the same, his entire being in ecstatic joy at this turn of events.

When they pulled away from each other, they were content. The conflict was forgotten for a moment and a moment longer as they simply relished in each other's comforting presence, in the soft afterglow of a reignited flame that had been close to burning out but had been fed just before it could die. It was a moment of calm, a moment of simple joy, a conflict largely resolved. They knew they would have to talk about it again, more in-depth, explore what they didn't understand even about themselves, about their roles in this conflict and how to go about resolving it completely. But it could wait until another time. Exhausted, but content, they lay down in the cloud-like bed, in each other's arms in a tender embrace, until morning dawned on them, and the quest they had begun would be continued.

 

As morning dawned and the sun was directed into the sky, James finally awoke from his exhaustion and depletion of power and energy. He felt refreshed, renewed and much better than before, although this feeling was made sour by the pain he still felt in his left, blind eye. He trembled, he felt betrayed, somehow. He had hurt people, he had perhaps hurt Thomas in one way or another, but he knew, this was not an appropriate punishment. He felt resentment gurgle inside him, and hate. Slowly, he sat and stood up from his bed and it disappeared as he made the veil disappear from his moon, letting in the light of the morning outside. He frowned and his brows furrowed and he stepped to the moon's eye. He looked down upon the mortals' realm and he clenched his teeth, hissing as the movement made the pain in his left eye burn worse than before. He decided he had to be careful with his facial movements, something he had never even had to consider up until that day. A pit opened in his stomach and he gritted his teeth at the pain, which did not help one bit to relieve the pain. It wasn't as agonising or tormenting a pain as it had been when the scar was first inflicted, but it was undeniably present, and couldn't just be ignored.

He breathed heavily, trembling slightly as he supported himself on his arms placed on the eye of the moon. With a bitter laugh, he thought to himself, at least he and the moon were matching now. He sighed and gazed down upon the mortals' realm, unsure of what to do. He wondered how Hercules and Aaron would react to his wound and how they would react to finding out who had inflicted it upon him. He wondered if they would hate him for his sake, or simply not believe what he told them. The latter was, although a terrifying notion, being accused of being a liar by someone whose trust he had just earned, a very plausible option. After all, he was a bit too aware of what he had done to deserve such a treatment, although he quietly began to wonder if Aaron knew just what James had done. The more James thought about it the more he was split into two sides, one arguing that of course, Aaron would know, how wouldn't he? And the other arguing that if he had known, he wouldn't have ever trusted James in any way, shape or form, it just wasn't plausible. Both sides made excellent points and he found himself struggling to decide which side he believed to be true. Perhaps he was afraid of the one which he was almost completely sure must be correct. He shook his head, he would never find out. If he asked Aaron about it and it turned out that Aaron did know about just what James did, namely throwing Alexander under the bus completely and selling him out to the Judge, it was all fine, because Aaron trusted him despite that. The only bad thing would be the awkwardness James was sure would follow immediately thereafter. If he asked and it turned out Aaron didn't know what James had done, then James would be risking losing Aaron's trust in him, something he didn't want to lose because he wanted to keep him safe from the other gods, especially the Judge, and repent for these mistakes by helping him in whatever way he can. But, he figured, Aaron would be too blind by anger to care about how he knew James wanted to fix the mistakes he's done (now perhaps with a new understanding of what the mistakes he had meant were) and hate and condemn him and loathe him. He was afraid Aaron wouldn't let him help anymore, wouldn't let him try to fix what he's done, to right his wrongs. He wanted to do everything in his power to atone for his mistakes. To make it right. So he decided he wouldn't confront Aaron about it and instead that he would opt for a more sneaky and more risk-free way to find out whether Aaron knew or not.

He was distracted in his thoughts when his carrier, Orsino, pulled at the fabric of his robes to catch his attention. He looked down at it, surprised to see it, even more so when he saw it hold a note. He took the note from the carrier's small clawed hands and read over it. It was a letter from Aaron and Hercules, written by Hercules as James concluded by the handwriting, stating that they were ready to look for the next temple and he should please come to the palace (Aaron would open a hole for him) so they may continue. James' brows furrowed and he gently touched the scarred tissue over his left eye. He hissed at the pain, noticing that this was the only thing he felt when touching the scarred tissue. He didn't feel the pressure of his fingers, the slight friction of them gliding along the scar tissue, or when he dared to jab at it. He only felt pain and was otherwise numb in that spot. He trembled again, once again afraid of Aaron and Hercules' reactions. He shook his head. There was no time to be afraid. He summoned a hat, one he would usually wear for the festivals dedicated to him or for celebrations in the realm of gods, and he placed it so that it covered the scar tissue of and around his left eye. He made the form of his hat shift, as he didn't want Hercules to wonder why he was wearing a festive hat. In truth, it was the only had he had ever really owned, and it had been a gift from Thomas at the time, holding enough sentimental value for James not to feel the urge to destroy it because it had been gifted to him by Thomas. Where the hat was once a deep navy blue with a flat, circle crystal that was supposed to resemble the moon, it was now a comforting turquoise and shaped like a flat and saggy witches' hat, though softer in fabric. It covered his left eye and he was happy with it.

With a deep breath, he left the moon, leaving it to glow and watch the world below for him, as he headed to the palace. He was no ten feet away from the tornado surrounding it, as a hole opened close to him and he hurried inside. The hole closed immediately behind him and he headed to the palace. As he entered, he found Aaron and Hercules waiting and preparing in the main hall, Hercules helping Aaron adjust the strap with which he held the tornado staff to his back so securely. Aaron's cloak had glowed blue, but upon his entrance, it had stopped and something had disappeared into it, which he couldn't have seen. Aaron smiled once he saw James and Hercules nodded at him in greeting with a half-smile, a bit too concentrated on helping Aaron to properly acknowledge him, and he was fine with that.

"Are you ready?" he asked with a smile and Aaron looked at him, rather his hat, oddly for a moment and pointed at the hat.

"Neat hat, but it covers your left eye. Is that intentional?" he asked and James nodded too quickly.

"Yeah, it's a bit inconvenient, not being able to see with my left eye, but I'll manage," James assured and Aaron frowned, not buying it, but deciding to leave the matter alone for now. "Are you ready?" James repeated and Aaron slowly nodded as Hercules was finally done properly adjusting the strap on Aaron's back below his cloak.

"I suppose we are. Are you ready?" Hercules asked then with a proper smile in greeting and James nodded and Hercules smiled brighter and James noticed something different between him and Aaron, something calmer, "Then let's go!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Stuff happened! This was so much fun to write, and such a needed escape for me. I hope you enjoyed and I'l see you next time!


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, a new chapter! Resuming the 'temples' arc!

Thomas glared at James from afar, unnoticed by both Hercules and Aaron, though James was distinctly aware of his presence and a shudder ripped down his spine in a violent hurry. He ignored Thomas' glare from afar, knowing that Thomas would not dare approach him in Aaron's company.

Aaron was careful as he exited through the gates of the gods' realm into the mortals' realm, vaguely aware that there was something awaiting him in the future, though he wasn't sure if it was the near future or a distant one, yet he was keenly aware something was coming. Something would come for him. He shook off the feeling and focused on the task at hand. The next temple. The water temple, he believed. He wondered, for a moment, if this would be the last temple, and it made sense for it to be the last one as it completed the 'elements of nature' theme the temples had going on. But it felt almost incomplete a thought, and he grew curious about it. He turned to James once they entered the mortals' realm and asked him where the washed away fisher town had been. James flinched, startled at Aaron so suddenly turning to him and it took him a second to process what Aaron had asked him. When he finally did he nodded his head.

"It's in that direction. Half a mile from here. I can see the mountain it was built near," he said, disoriented as he could only see on his right eye, and Aaron nodded quietly, then his expression turned thoughtful. With a decisive nod, he grabbed both Hercules and James' hands and rushed forwards with his winged feet, propelling the group forwards faster and faster, arriving at the mountain in about five seconds. James had to hold his hat over his eye tightly as to not let it fall off and reveal to the others what had happened to him. He wasn't sure exactly why he was hiding it from them, but he just figured they didn't need to worry about him.

They arrived at the mountain and Aaron let go of their hands, but Hercules kept clinging to him, paler than he was before. Aaron turned to him with an apologetic smile and kissed his head.

"I should have warned you before I did that, my heart. Sorry," he apologized but Hercules shook his head with a slight smile, though he still looked like he might become sick or throw up any second. James pulled at his hat, positioning it over his eye properly so it would not fall off no matter what. He gave a quick look around and flinched when he saw a storm, bigger than any storm he had ever seen in his life, approach them at increasing and rapid speeds.

He had no time to warn Aaron or Hercules before the storm had caught them with such intense force that it threw them all to the ground. Hercules couldn't react in time, but Aaron took hold of him and pulled him to himself, making sure he was the one to first hit the ground. James was nowhere in sight, but Aaron was a bit distracted keeping Hercules close to his chest as they hit the ground. Just before they did, Aaron's cloak began glowing as Nae put its protective spell around the pair, shielding them from the impact of being thrown into the ground with such incredible force. Aaron whimpered as the impact was only dulled for him and it still hurt him considerably, and he was glad he was able to shield Hercules from the impact with his body. The storm stayed in its place above them, the rain hitting them so had it felt like knives to their skin and the lightning bolts hit closer and closer to them with each strike, and the wind kept them pinned to the ground, pushing against them painfully and Aaron yelped as the force of the wind increased. Hercules was realising, to some degree, what was happening and, with all his power, he lifted himself up and shielded Aaron's body from the harsh wind. He didn't know why, but he felt suddenly so much weaker. Suddenly, lightning struck Hercules' back and a burning pain screeched through his body but the scream he let out was drowned out by the storm. Aaron's eyes widened, blinded for a moment from the harsh light and he cried out as Hercules collapsed on top of him. The wind increased in strength upon him and Hercules and Aaron felt himself growing weaker and weaker as the force of the wind stopped him from breathing, and with the last shred of his strength, he grabbed the tornado staff strapped on his back and pulled it out decisively. He pointed it at the storm above him and gave it a quick swing with a flick of his wrist and spoke the spell of 'wielding winds' out loud. The staff began glowing with the extra power granted to it by the spoken spell and Aaron felt the winds of the storm trying to fight against it, but they were pulled into the staff until the winds around them were completely gone, then, with sudden force, the collected winds were expelled from the staff and blew away the storm clouds above them, clearing the sky.

Aaron gasped, he could breathe again and he sucked in the air greedily, filling his lungs which felt like they would burst any second now. He panted and tried to calm his frantically beating heart down when he heard James voice yelling and calling out for Aaron. Aaron called back and James finally found them, Hercules still unconscious on Aaron. James hurried to them and helped Aaron to get Hercules off of him and more comfortably onto the ground. Aaron asked James to help him turn Hercules on his stomach and for James to hold him on his lap so Aaron may look at his back and James complied. Aaron carefully took off Hercules' shirt, which was a dark red, and he gasped when he saw the developing scar tissue. James flinched but held onto Hercules' upper body. James gulped and Aaron slowly let his hand run over the intricate pattern on Hercules' back. He found that the scars were obscuring a tattoo, something that was written on Hercules' back and, by closer inspection, Aaron found that it was written in an older version of Qjuanjoith and he could make most of it out. He was surprised when he found it was a love poem and it suddenly clicked.

"This is the first poem to have ever been written... This is the poem that caused him to first exist..." he gasped in a whisper and James looked on with intrigue.

"So that's how muses come to be?" he asked quietly and Aaron looked up at him confused.

"You didn't know?" he replied and James shook his head.

"Did you?" he asked and Aaron shrugged.

"I'm just a mortal, technically. I'm not really supposed to know how gods or muses come to be. I assumed how they come to be is just... common knowledge amongst the immortal..." Aaron shrugged and James shook his head again.

"No, we... we don't even know how _we_ come to be. We just... start existing..." he said, remembering the night he came into existence, "I suppose there is a triggering event but... I haven't a clue why it triggers a god, or muse, to exist suddenly. But more pressing... Are you okay? This storm came so suddenly, I had no chance to warn you, and it disappeared so quickly, too..."

"I'm alright, the... protective spell on my cloak prevented too much damage to come to me. It still hurts, but it's manageable. I... I think the storm was a protection spell..." he murmured.

"A protection spell?" James asked, brows raised in surprise.

"How else would a wind and storm strong enough to knock down a god and a muse come to be? Not on its own, I can assure you. I distinctly felt Alexander's power, his magic in the wind, and I think it would have killed me were it not for the staff," he looked at the tornado staff in his hand and James' eyes widened at the notion of Aaron dying. Aaron gave a quick look around and hummed. "So the temple must be around here somewhere..." he muttered and James nodded, seeing Aaron's reasoning.

"What about Hercules?" he asked and Aaron looked down at Hercules' unconscious body. A few seconds passed with Aaron frowning, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed, indicating that he was deep in thought.

Could you bring him back to the palace?" he asked, "I think I'll be okay down here. Looking for the palace can't be that hard, now can it?"

"No. Absolutely not," James replied immediately, startling Aaron somewhat at how stern he sounded, "I... sorry, but... I'm afraid that the Judge will find you and... I don't want him to find you, he will kill you."

Aaron sighed but nodded.

"I get it, but... You really don't have to worry about me. I'm a lot stronger than I look and with my cloak, I doubt that he will even be able to find me," Aaron smiled reassuringly and James frowned and furrowed his brows in doubt.

"It's not that I doubt you, Aaron, I just... I'm just afraid that he'll find you despite the odds and..." he paused and looked at the ground. He was uncomfortable with leaving Aaron here, but in the end, he nodded, "Alright, fine, just... If anything happens, can you somehow... somehow make us know? I don't know-"

"I'll create a tornado to let you know, okay?" he smiled and James reluctantly nodded. He picked up Hercules to the best of his abilities and began walking upon the light up into the white clouds above out of Aaron's sight and into the gods' realm. Aaron let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. The smile on his lips for James faltered, worry written all over his face suddenly and he hummed concerned. He examined the tornado staff in his hand with a soft glare, feeling guilty for what had happened to Hercules. He felt like he could have done something before Hercules was hit by the bolt of lightning, though he knew that he couldn't possibly have done anything before, as he also had been caught entirely off guard. He grimaced, he felt guilty, but he decided to move on. He looked around the general area and it looked rather barren. He could hardly believe a fisher town had sat anywhere near here in the past. He began walking, giving everything a quick but thorough glance as he finally approached the sea.

As he stepped onto the sand, he felt individual grains of sand slip in between his feet and his sandals in a most uncomfortable way and he grimaced at the feeling. He leaned over and took off his sandals, the feeling of them off being very weird. He hadn't taken off the sandals in a long time, which had never been a problem since he took baths regularly in the temple's hot spring. He held the sandals in his hands tightly, as he knew they would otherwise fly away and leave him stranded.

The sand under his feet felt much more comfortable now and he walked along the beach for a few minutes, keeping his gaze in the water further away from shore, trying to find anything that resembled the water temple. Suddenly, his coat began to glow blue, startling him, and Nae appeared before him, immediately jumping into the water and emerging a moment later with a delighted grin on its face.

"Home! Home! I'm Home!" Nae exclaimed, throwing its arms around in the water, having zero impact on it. Aaron let out a short laugh.

"So this is where you came from?" he asked, squatting down by the water, the waves softly hitting his feet. Nae giggled and laughed in delight and nodded.

"I was killed right over there!" it grinned and pointed to a cave that was sitting in a large rock in the water, half a mile away from shore. "That's where our nest was, but now that the people here are all dead, my people should be back by now!" it exclaimed giddily.

"That's good for you- wait... If this was your home- Do you know of a temple-like structure anywhere here? Maybe underwater?" he asked and Nae got a thoughtful expression on its face.

"Not underwater... I think you're talking about our nest!" it said and Aaron raised a brow.

"Is your nest underwater?" he asked and Nae shrugged.

"Partially. Not by low tide, it's not, and it's gonna be low tide very soon. We usually head to the lowest part of our nest during low tide, so I don't think you'll be bothered by them," Nae grinned and Aaron chuckled.

"Well, that's good, at least. Do you think I can head there now?" he asked and Nae gave a quick look around and nodded its head.

"Yeah, I suppose you can. But be careful. At this time, my people won't have travelled to the lowest part of our nest yet," Nae warned and Aaron nodded, telling it that he will just be more careful then. Nae disappeared into a ball of light and into his cloak again and Aaron walked along the beach to be closer to the cave. He wanted to walk for a bit because he did need some more exercise. Finally, he put on his sandals again, which had been fluttering in his hands as if trying to escape from him, though they stopped their wriggling once he put them on. As soon as they were back on his feet he began flying and flitted towards the cave, landing on the wet rocks just before the cave. The cave was dim, not dark enough for him to not be able to see in it, but it impaired his vision somewhat. He gave a quick look around, quickly recognizing the symbols on the wall telling the story of the temple.

"Nae?" he called and Nae appeared next to him, its light shining onto the walls, making it easier for Aaron to read. "Ah, thanks, I needed your light." Nae rolled its eyes and quietly watched Aaron read the text on the wall and translating it in his head.

The text on the walls told how the goddess of water came to be worshipped by the people. One day, many, many centuries ago, a fisher found a lady washed up on shore. The lady's appearance was utterly revolting, her skin made of fishbones and her hair made of seaweed, her mouth was a clam, her nose a sea snail shell and her eyes were pitch black, her eyebrows were crab legs and the dress she wore was seal skin. Though the fisher found the sight of her revolting, he helped her up and brought her to the village to his home. His children didn't, at first, like the lady much, but grew to like her the longer she stayed. The lady didn't talk, but the fisher knew what she wanted to say. As long as the lady was in the fisher's house, his luck with fishing exceeded everyone else's in the village and he soon became wealthy through his trade as the fish he caught were the biggest or rarest of their kind. The village, while some grew jealous of him, others just wanted to know how he got the luck with fishing that he had. Every time he took the credit, in an attempt to keep the lady's luck to himself. One day, the lady was gone, and the fisher asked his children where she had gone to. The children gave him a fishbone and said the lady told them to give it to him and that when she had opened her mouth to speak to them, water had come flooding from it, like a waterfall. The fisher asked his children if the lady had said anything more than that and his children told him that she didn't like how he kept her to himself and that he wasn't entitled to the luck she gave him, and that he should have shared it. Now, so his children said, he would have to endure seven years of no sea creature gracing him with their presence. The fisher was devastated to hear this and he apologized day and night and soon enough, the people of his village heard of this, heard of the lady from the water and they knew, as one, that she was the goddess of water who loved to share.

Upon Aaron's lips grew an amused smirk as he read this story, picturing this goddess in his mind. She seemed, from what he could gather from the story, like she had been a nice person, comparatively. He moved on along the wall, reading more and more stories about this goddess, as there seemed to be many more where she was directly involved. He gathered, from the stories, that she had been an amazing huntress and that she loved sharing what she could with everyone, though she didn't hesitate to punish those who misused her generosity or kept it to themselves. He grew intrigued by this goddess, thinking it was such a shame that she was dead, as he figured there would be no worshipper left of her, especially since the people in the fisher town had been killed by a storm. He decided he read enough and he continued exploring the rest of the temple. It seemed like a bit more complicated in structure as he found a pair of stairs leading downwards into the temple. He decided to walk down, Nae always right next to him to light the way. The stairs were winding down and he almost grew sick and dizzy from it. He walked down the stairs carefully, as the stone ground was still wet and slick and he almost slipped once or twice. In the end, he decided walking down the stairs was too dangerous and he let his winged sandals lift him off the ground and he began gliding down safely. Once he was at the bottom of the stairs he found a giant room. There was seaweed all over the place and small crabs were running around here or there and he avoided stepping on them by continuing to float just above the ground. There was scarcely anything written on the walls here, just some small stories of how the goddess of water got her body parts. She got her skin from a fisher that threw them into the sea. She got her hair by getting caught in seaweed. She got her mouth by taking a clam from the very bottom of the sea. She got her dress gifted from a selkie, as it had been the hide of its mother. She got her nose by finding a sea snail shell abandoned and she felt bad for it and her eyebrows, the crab's legs, were gifted to her by a crab who believed its legs would grow back and it wouldn't take its legs back even as it turned out they didn't grow back. The eyes of this goddess were the only thing that she had had before. He carried on through the giant chamber into the next room, which was considerably smaller.

In this room, there was a pedestal, shaped like a fish opening its mouth, looking like it would eat the stone tablet that was on top of it with a hole filled with water around it. Aaron approached the stone tablet and carefully wiped off the seaweed that was stuck on it. He found exactly what he was looking for: the spell of 'parting water'. He grinned and read over the stone tablet, reading the instruction for the spell. He then headed to the hole of water and put his hands into fists, then made two V's with his index and middle fingers, put them together and dragged them down and then to the sides, away from each other, mimicking the symbol for a waterfall. His hands began glowing a bright blue as the water in front of him in the whole parted for him, revealing another pair of stairs which he followed down. In the next room, he thus found himself in was another pedestal, but this one held a bow, and nothing else. He approached it curiously, seeing that this must be the temple's artefact. He carefully picked it up, finding it had the same symbol on it he mimicked for the spell. The bow itself was shaped like it was made of waves and he could actually see little fish swimming in it. As he took the bow in his hand he found a wall of water on the other side of the room, separating this room from yet another one. He was surprised to see a wall made of water and he could see, blurry, another room behind it. He grabbed the bow tighter and held it out, experimentally pulling at the string, surprised when an arrow appeared in his grasp, made of light it looked like, as he pulled the string further back. Finally, he let go after aiming at the wall of water and the arrow rushed through the air faster than Aaron's eye could track and it pierced the water wall, forcing it to part for him. He entered the room that lay behind, finding more inscriptions upon the walls. He gasped when he read them. They were directions to four more temples. Well, only directions to one of them, eluding to the existence of four more. And he took in a harsh gasp when he translated which was the next temple.

He quickly scribbled down the directions to the next temple and hurried out of this one. Behind him he heard the water rushing in and saw clearly how the water from above was flooding back in, indicating a high tide. He hurried up the stairs, feeling dizzy yet again, until he was back in the main room, only to be hit with a wave, harshly pushing him down. He coughed as some water had managed into his lungs and he quickly fled the temple before even more water could flood it and perhaps drown him, though he wasn't sure if Nae could protect him from that.

He flitted out of the temple, over the mountain they had come from, seeing another storm approach the shore and sea, and he could have sworn he saw a creature much like Nae look at him from afar before diving down quickly. Nae had disappeared into his cloak again as he flitted through the white clouds above him and found the gates to the gods' realm and quickly entered through them, his frightened excitement getting to him quickly and he hushed to the palace even quicker, arriving there in under ten seconds.

He flitted through the tornado and almost crashed into the doors to the palace before they opened and he crashed into the wall in the main hall, his cloak glowing a bright blue, shielding him from most of the damage.

James, who had been waiting anxiously for Aaron to return as he nursed Hercules with some moon tear potion he had grabbed somewhere (he didn't know how he had found it or what it had been doing sitting on the floor near them when they had arrived), Hercules lying on a cloud James had managed to summon because he couldn't figure out where the bedrooms were, yelped startled when Aaron crashed into the wall beside him. The bow fell to the ground first and then Aaron, to whom James immediately rushed to inquire what happened and if he was okay.

"I'm-" Aaron gasped, "I'm fine. I think. Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing happened, don't worry. No Judge or anyone else- just... next- the next temple. I have directions to the next temple, and I know where it is- I mean, I know whose temple and-..."

"Woah, woah, calm down, Aaron, breathe. There's no hurry to tell me- Wait, another temple? Another one?" he asked and Aaron nodded, slowly catching his breath.

"Another temple. Four more temples, actually. But thus far I only know the name of the next one," Aaron said, breathing heavily.

"Which is the next one?" James asked and immediately regretted it as soon as Aaron spoke the name.

"The next temple is the temple of Death!" Aaron grinned, nervously excited and James' eyes widened considerably.

"D-Death?! Lafayette?! But- But he's _alive_! You can't go there, Aaron! He'll find you in it and he will kill you!" James panicked and Aaron shrugged.

"I mean, yeah, he's gonna do that eventually. James, I'm only a mortal. Death is normal for my kind. No big deal," Aaron played it off but James shook his head.

"It's the biggest deal! If he finds you in there- I don't want to imagine what he's gonna do to you!" James panicked, not noticing Hercules stirring beside him. Aaron ran to him excited and worried and hugged Hercules tightly.

"Hercules!" he exclaimed and kissed Hercules' head, "Did you hear whose temple we're gonna visit next?"

"I heard... You should know I wouldn't like the idea... If I knew that Lafayette actually cared enough to hurt you," Hercules said, still somewhat in pain.

"What do you mean?" James asked and Aaron nodded along with the question and Hercules sighed.

"We- the muses- hung out and basically lived next door to him and he never cared about that. He never even showed his head once. That god is just one of those who doesn't care, at all. You can walk around him and he'll ignore you. Maybe he'll think you're a nuisance, but he won't do anything to harm you, as far as I'm aware," Hercules explained and Aaron nodded.

"So... are you better? The lightning struck you pretty bad," Aaron frowned and Hercules stretched, letting out a pained groan as he twisted his back in the wrong way.

"I think I'll be out of commission for a while..." he nodded and Aaron looked at him worried. Then Hercules saw the bow Aaron was holding. "So what's the new spell and artefact to our little collection?" he asked and Aaron grinned explaining all he had seen and learned in the water temple, surprising James with the great detail of the goddess of water.

All of them were unaware that it would take five years for Hercules to properly recover, but Aaron was willing to wait. He did need Hercules' specific help for entering the next temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! To the next temple! Hercules has cool new scars! (I actually really love scars. they just look cool!)


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a filler chapter, I suppose?

Alexander woke up, with a distorted sense of time. He had become able to fall unconscious every once in a while, whenever he exhausted himself. While he resented every second leading up to him falling unconscious, he was glad that he could skip some time. Generally, according to the Judge, he fell unconscious for between 10 days and 10 weeks. He didn't want to wake up this time, or anytime ever, but some force seemed to be forcing him to. He was hardly conscious of what was happening when suddenly the phial he was in was shaking powerfully. The Judge was shaking it to get Alexander to wake up, a month had passed since he had fallen 'asleep', and the Judge was getting impatient with him.

"Wh-what do you want?" Alexander questioned groggily and the Judge sighed.

"I need your help," the Judge asserted and Alexander groaned.

"Yeah, I figured!" Alexander gnarred, "What is it?"

I'm somewhat in need of a riddle or two," he said and Alexander raised a brow.

"A riddle? What, did you piss off some local woodland spirit? You know, you're not supposed to do that right? I bet that thing was older than you" he scoffed and rubbed his eyes and the Judge growled.

"I don't need you to make fun of me, Wind," he spat sharply. Alexander had seemingly managed to make the Judge be permanently pissed at him.

"Shit, you totally did! What did you do?" he asked in disbelief. The Judge groaned.

"That doesn't matter-"

"It really does, believe me. Last time I pissed off a woodland spirit-"

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" the Judge snapped and Alexander recoiled and cowered.

"But context _is_ important here-"

"Just give me a riddle. Preferably an impossible one, so it can't possibly solve it," the Judge hissed and Alexander shook his head.

"No, giving it an impossible one will just piss it off more and make it curse you. I speak from expe-"

"Just give me a riddle!" the Judge hissed.

"I thought you wanted me to help you?" Alexander snapped.

"You would with a riddle!" the Judge growled back

"Fine... Any restrictions?" he hissed and the Judge nodded.

"It said it only allows 'who am I?' riddles, and it allowed me four tries while it will ask me four riddles in return. A battle of wits, more or less," he clarified and Alexander rolled his eyes.

"Of which you have none, if you need me for it," Alexander grumbled and then spoke louder, "Eight in total? That's a lot for a spirit? Anyway, fine... First riddle," and he told the Judge one of the oldest riddles he knew, to some degree because he had been there and a participant in creating them.

Outside of the phial, the Judge was standing in front of an ancient woodland spirit which had been roaming through the woods near his home and he had been ill-mannered toward it and had refused to give any hospitality. The woodland spirit had threatened him to put a curse on him which even he couldn't lift off himself and had given him a chance to get out of it by giving a riddle and, if the spirit couldn't solve it, he would be spared of the curse, but if the spirit could solve all the riddles the curse would hit him tenfold.

The woodland spirit chortled and wrapped its head sickeningly around itself, and then asked the first riddle.

"Let us start simple, shall we? Everything nourishes me, and I am the fattest thing there is. What am I?" the spirit asked and the Judge didn't know the answer to it and had to ask Alexander for help again.

"Really?" Alexander asked, incredulously, "That is such an old one! A classic if you will. And you don't know it?"

"Evidently," the Judge spat.

"Ugh, fine. It's the earth. Everything nourishes the earth. Too simple, really," Alexander rolled his eyes and the Judge nodded and gave the answer to the spirit.

"Give me a riddle," he stated and Alexander, with an annoyed sigh, gave one and its answer. The Judge turned to the spirit and asked it the riddle. "I am for ever hungry, I will eat whatever lies in my path, yet if I eat all there is, I will die. What am I?" the Judge asked the spirit and it cackled.

"Fire! The answer is fire! Once there is nothing left for it to eat, it will die!" the spirit laughed, "My turn! Voiceless I cry, wingless I flutter, toothless I bite, mouthless I mutter. You can hear me but not for my mouth, I can bring down a building yet I'm not a machine. What am I?" it giggled and the Judge had to ask for Alexander's help again.

"You have to be kidding me... Hey, I am _literally_ the answer!" Alexander groaned and The Judge raised a brow at him.

"Wind?" he asked and Alexander clapped his hands in mocking applause.

"Ding ding! We have a winner, folks!" he jeered and rolled his eyes and the Judge snarled at him, but gave the answer to the spirit, then asked Alexander for another riddle, who provided it with a grumble.

"I believe it is my turn: Wherever I travel, life follows my path, and where I'm not found, all life may die. What am I?" he asked and the spirit cooed.

"Too simple! I know the answer and it is water! Nothing can survive without water!" the spirit laughed, "My turn: I am the equality you do not want. Where there is a lot of me, that is a place of misery, though I relieve you of it. What am I?"

Alexander raised a brow at this riddle.

"It's death," he supplied without the Judge having to ask him for it and he gave him another riddle.

"I follow everyone until I end. I am a gift in the beginning but seem like a curse in the end. What am I?" he asked and the spirit raised a brow at this riddle, then narrowed its eye in suspicion.

"The answer would be life... But I must wonder. Where do you have this riddle from?" it asked, but the Judge shook his head.

"Wherever you have yours from," he replied and Alexander hit his own forehead with his palm.

"Bad answer, Judge. This is gonna bite you in the ass," he grumbled and the spirit grumbled.

"Let us move on then... My source in the night may kill you, but without me, you'd be blind, yet you're blinded when you look upon me. What am I?" it asked, through gritted teeth and Alexander's brows furrowed at how he knew this riddle too, like every other one before.

"Light," Alexander provided.

"Could you give me a riddle to which this thing doesn't know the answer to?" the Judge snapped at him.

"How am I supposed to know what riddles they... don't... know... Wait... I do have one," Alexander hummed and gave the Judge a rather short riddle, which surprised him so much he was unsure whether he could trust Alexander with this one, but as he had no other choice, given the fact that he knew no riddle himself, he had to trust him.

"The more places I be, the less you can see. What am I?" he asked the spirit, which halted in its contorting movements and the smirk on its lips had dropped to the floor.

"Ah, I see. So my suspicions were correct... Alexander! How are you fairing this century? What I heard of you is correct?" the spirit ignored the Judge in favour of the necklace around his neck, "You will be delighted to hear that your friend is well! The Oracle had a vision very recently of him, you should know! I know this guy isn't supposed to know, and I can't lie, you know, so I'll do what you taught me. Ahem," it cleared its throat and its voice then came out deeper, darker, and it caused a shiver to run down the Judges' spine, "Time runs out for one, for two, the last one standing will meet him and you! Your tales will be woven together again, for better or worse, you'll know in the end!"

The Judge stepped back, puzzled as to what this meant, perhaps even in regards to himself, but the spirit cackled loudly and contorted in a revolting way towards him, hissing and bared its spear-like fangs to him in a growl.

"But _you_ ," it hissed, "You _cheated_ ," and it began crawling around the Judge, the sticks and twigs scratching lightly at the Judges' robes. Alexander flinched back. He knew this spirit. He knew what was going to happen. "You need to be punished for this. Hm, give me your name," it cackled and held out its hand to the Judge. Alexander piped up at this.

"No! You do not give them your name! That is the last thing you want to do, ever- ugh, why am I even telling you? You'll ignore me anyway like you always do in favour of your own, skewed judgement. Go on. Give 'em your name, see what happens, Judge, ride to your doom but take the necklace off before so I don't have to be part of this," his words were astringent.

"No?" the spirit cackled, "Alright. One last riddle. I'm an annoyance in your side or a blight in your sight. What am I?"

Alexander's eyes widened.

"I told you it's gonna bite you in the ass," he seethed. The judge flinched back as the spirit came closer with its hands to his face.

"Do you know the answer?" it asked, ominously slithering closer. Its body began rustling, as though the wind had run through the leaves it was mostly made out of. "Do you not? Do you give up? Well, the answer is thorns," it snapped and slammed the thorns on its hands into the Judges' eyes and he let out a blood-curdling shriek as blood ran down his cheeks as if in a parody of tears. The spirit cackled even louder than before and jumped back as the Judge kept summoning strange things without proper form to throw at it, though missing every single time. Blood kept running down his cheeks out of his messed up eyes. He screamed in anguish, as there were still thorns stuck in his eyes and he couldn't blink properly, as the thorns had shredded through his eyelids as well. The spirit had vanished into the woods and out of the Judges' reach.

"Judge!" Alexander barked, "Calm yourself!"

The Judge dropped to his knees and pressed a hand to his eyes and felt the blood run over it in a flood and he hissed in pain.

"Have _you_ ever gotten thorns rammed into your **eyes** before?!" he yelled and Alexander rolled his eyes.

"Thrice, yeah, and by the sound of it, it was the same spirit that cursed you. This is not permanent blindness, although I wonder why I'm even trying to comfort you at this point, but our local goddess of healing should know how to deal with this. I did come to her the first time this happened to me, and I kinda taught her how to deal with this specifically the other two times so I would have someone competent to help me whenever it happened again. So yeah, it happened to me, and I know more about this than you, who you apparently know nothing about dealing with spirits!" Alexander accused, "Seriously! How is this the first time you had to deal with a spirit? I mean, " he breathed, "I guess it's not the worst first interaction with a spirit. My first was certainly less smooth."

"Do I want to know what happened to you your first time around?" the Judge asked, tightly keeping his hand pressed over his eyes to stop the blood from flowing but only succeeding in jamming the thorns in deeper, causing himself more pain.

"No, you do not. And you will not get to hear it," Alexander snarled, almost startling the Judge with the acidity in the statement.

Alexander had decided, on the day he had decided that he did not want to be in the Judges' company that he would not tell him any more of his past. He did not deserve to know anything, being so ignorant too basically know nothing. Alexander still could hardly believe how little the Judge actually knew, and he was supposedly the most powerful of all the gods or at least the most powerful of the still living. He did not count the god of Death among them, for obvious reasons. He sighed as he heard the Judge summon his carrier, Sycorax. Alexander ignored the Judge from that point out and cowered back into his 'favourite' corner of the phial. He had spared too much information about his past exploits already in the past thirty years. The spirit's words came to mind once more. _Time runs out for one, for two, the last one standing will meet him and you! Your tales will be woven together again, for better or worse, you'll know in the end!_

What that meant for him was that he and Aaron would be reunited again, and the thought made him so happy, but it also said that they would be reunited after both of them had run out of time and had met with the last one standing, which just did not bode well for either of them. He sighed and rubbed at his temples as he quite suddenly felt another shock and shiver run through him and ripping along his spine. He forgot when the last time had been where this had happened to him. But it unpleasant all the same. He knew it wouldn't take much more. Perhaps a few more blows to his mind, to his self, and then he'll finally be gone. He found a smile creeping onto his lips at the thought. Perhaps there was peace in death like he was told once. He remembered it well, but he decided not to dwell on it this time. He scratched his upper arms, his itch was returning and dread began filling up his stomach to the brim and overflowed with it. He braced himself for the itch hitting him with full force all over his body. It began on his arms and it slowly travelled down his body, over his chest, down his spine, crossing his hips and wandering down his legs until even his feet were tingling with his intolerable itch and he scratched and scratched and scratched at his body until he bled, ripped out his hair and tore off his skin and broke his bones when he crushed himself against the glass again and again and again to get rid of the itch again. And in the end, he fell unconscious again, leaving the Judge to help himself.

 

"Can you get up?" Aaron asked Hercules, gently taking his hand in his own as Hercules attempted, once again, to get up from the set of clouds he had been moving on for the past five years he had been recovering while Aaron had spent most of his time taking care of him and helping him. Hercules, supporting himself on Aaron, slowly set a foot onto the ground and then another, and carefully stepped off of the cloud and almost fell, were it not for Aaron holding him up so tightly.

"I think the both of us need more exercise..." Hercules commented with a sheepish grin and Aaron snorted.

"Yeah, we do. We're so out of shape!" Aaron grinned, "But you're doing just fine! See? You're off the cloud and on your feet! Just a bit more practice and we can be out and about again!"

"I can't wait to act out your little plan," Hercules chuckled and nuzzled Aaron's cheek, "Little mastermind, you are," he caressed his cheek and Aaron laughed.

"I'm still surprised you agreed to it since it kinda puts you... in a bit of danger. Danger into which I do not want to get you in... again... It's a more mild danger compared to the storm, but it's danger nonetheless and I'm still beating myself up over the lightning that struck you just because I didn't anticipate Alexander helping to put a protection spell there. It was the next logical step, but no, I was too distracted to notice," he lamented, "At least you're better now..." Hercules grimaced when Aaron said this and kissed his forehead, standing on his feet more secure and less wobbly than before.

"Hey, don't say that, love, you put me in no danger, not then and not now. Me having been hurt by some lightning could not have been your fault! And besides, I'd rather it hit me than you; I'm the immortal one of us!" he kissed Aaron tenderly, to comfort and encourage him and Aaron sighed, kissing back all the same and smiling gently into the kiss.

"I'd still rather it hadn't hit you at all, you wouldn't need to recover then and you wouldn't have needed to have been in pain," he said, nuzzling Hercules' cheek. Hercules snorted.

"Just look at it as team building exercise!" Hercules smirked and Aaron lightly slapped his shoulder.

"Stop being adorable, my heart, I can only take so much," he grinned, thoroughly love-struck, "Let's try taking a few steps, now that you're a bit more comfortable standing on those feet."

Hercules nodded and agreed and together, with Hercules supporting himself heavily of Aaron, they tried to move a few steps forward together. While Hercules had been secure standing, walking was a whole other story, his legs unsteady and shaky and almost gave out on him a couple of times, but thankfully Aaron was there to just barely catch him.

"What would I do without you with me?" Hercules sighed lovingly and affectionately as Aaron caught him again.

"Probably not be in this situation in the first place," Aaron shrugged with a smile and Hercules raised a brow.

"Aw, come, don't say that! I wouldn't have it any other way and you know it!" Hercules grinned and kissed Aaron again who grinned in return.

"Don't I know it," Aaron shook his head and nuzzled into Hercules. "I think that's enough practice for today. A week or so more and you should be walking securely again and I won't have to push you around on the cloud."

"Aw, I'll miss that!" Hercules winked and Aaron playfully scoffed at him.

"Hey, how's the progress?" James walked into the room and asked. It had been five years since James joined in their quest and he had integrated himself into the group rather well, and he was a big help for Aaron, seeing as he also needed to take care of the entire palace from time to time and thus could sometimes not take care of Hercules. James still had his hat on that covered the left half of his face. He had become close to them over the years, in a way that Aaron had decided he trusted him completely with all that he knew. It was, for the record, a different kind of trust from his trust in Hercules, which was an intimate sort of trust gained by feeling safe even when vulnerable. The trust he had in James was the kind of trust that meant he trusted his every word to be correct (except when playing games because James was such a _cheater_ ) and he trusted him, to a high degree, to keep him protected. He could feel just how powerful of a god James was in reality, and he was glad he was on his side.

"We're making progress, yeah. He's wobbly when walking, but with a bit more practice, he'll be up and at it again!" Aaron beamed and noticed something James was holding and he narrowed his eyes at James, pointing at what he was holding, "What's that?"

"I found it in the library! It looks like another game, but the manual that came with it is written in... what was it again?" James scratched the back of his neck.

"I am not playing another game with you, James, you cheat, without fail, every single time we play something together, and you're not even good at it!" Aaron glared and Hercules snorted.

"You cheat, too, love, all the time," Hercules snickered and Aaron's eyes widened.

"Shh!" Aaron hissed and James looked back and forth between them confused and puzzled.

"What? What!" he glared at Aaron who avoided his glare, "What do you mean he cheats!"

"I'm saying that you should never play for money with him; you will lose it all. Cards and 'Jack trades' especially, he cheats so much and you don't even notice, it's hilarious, honestly," Hercules snorted and James huffed and pouted.

"And you give me a hard time for cheating! You do it yourself!" James scoffed and Aaron grinned guiltily.

"Yeah, but you're bad at it! If you're gonna cheat at a game you do it in a way no one notices!" Aaron defended himself poorly and James rolled his eyes.

"Yes, and being good at cheating is a skill you want to have," he scoffed sarcastically and Aaron nodded.

"Actually, yeah. You never know when you have to cheat to win with big stakes looming overhead. I prefer being a jack of all trades to a master of one," Aaron shrugged and James raised a brow.

"And that means?" he asked and Aaron beamed.

"Being specialised in only one thing will only help you with one thing, that's the master of one, but if presented with a problem to which the solution is another skill than your only one, you can't solve it. A jack of all trades, which I prefer to be, is decent at a wide range of skills, though not perfect at any one skill and, if presented with a problem that the master of one would be struggling with, the wide range of skills of the jack of all trades allows them to find the solution to the problem. I prefer to be prepared for everything, I don't want to get stuck on a thing. You... you see what happens when I'm not prepared..." he gestured to Hercules with a frown. 

"Hey. My fault, not yours, quit beating yourself up about it. Let's play 'Jack trades' or something, I can't read whatever this is. Maybe you can teach me how to properly cheat at it, then?" James smiled comfortingly and put an arm around Aaron's shoulder in encouragement and Aaron nodded.

"I suppose that won't hurt. You're a rotten cheater. Would do you some good, learning," Aaron snorted and Hercules groaned.

"No! That means I'll only lose from now on! At least against James, I still had a chance!" Hercules groaned playfully, Aaron helping him back onto the cloud.

"That's what you get for being the only honest player in the group," Aaron kissed his cheek, "But you will help me teach him, yeah?"

"Sure, I will," Hercules rolled his eyes and James raised a brow.

"How's he gonna help? Serve as a guinea pig?" James asked as Aaron hopped onto the cloud with Hercules and expanded it, patting the space he expanded in front of him for James to sit on. James hopped onto the cloud as well and sat down, legs crossed. Aaron made clouds and formed them into something like a table. He pulled out a deck of cards and shuffled it.

"Not a guinea pig, no. Hercules might be an honest player, but if we play in agreement to disregard the 'no cheating' rule, he's the master. I'll serve as the guinea pig in this and Hercules will teach you!" Aaron grinned, distributing the cards and laying one on the table face-up, and James chuckled, receiving his cards from Aaron. He frowned. He had a bad hand already.

"Alright, fine," he sighed and Hercules scooted closer to him once receiving his own cards. He had a better hand than James had.

"Slight of hand is your best friend in this game," Hercules grinned and, with a flick of his wrist, had another card, a really good card for this game, James noticed, in his hand.

"Where'd you hide that?" James asked and Hercules grinned, "You're barely wearing anything to hide it in?" Aaron snorted at the observation.

"Look at how he placed his robes in crinkles. Good hiding places, despite the lack of non-revealing clothing," Aaron explained.

"Are you complaining?" Hercules asked with a grin.

"You won't ever see me complain about this, except..." Aaron smirked, reached over the makeshift table and kissed Hercules, "It's distracting." Hercules grinned, utterly love-struck and Aaron pulled away with a grin, lifting his hand to show he had stolen Hercules card. Hercules' eyes widened in confusion for a second before he snorted.

"Rude! I was supposed to teach James, wasn't I?" Hercules playfully complained and Aaron nodded, handing Hercules the stolen card.

"It's a good card for this game, and this is a good lesson for James! While cheating, don't let yourself become distracted! And distracted people make for the best victims," Aaron snickered and Hercules sighed dreamily.

"Look at him, James. My little mastermind at work!" he beamed and James rolled his eyes with a smile.

"Not sure if this exact thing will happen to me anytime soon, but that was a cute display of affection. Now, how did you swipe that card in the first place? Or is it from another deck?" he chuckled and Hercules nodded.

"Yeah, swiped it way before. It's my lucky card, and I kinda keep it outside of playing too. For you to swipe a card before the game is kinda difficult, but I'd just recommend swiping some when the game is in play, but not yet so tense that other players will keep an eye out for cheaters. If the deck goes around in the first ten rounds, it's your opportunity to snag two cards instead of one," Hercules explained and James nodded.

"You make this sound easy," he mumbled.

"And with practice, it will be," Aaron supplied, "Let's try it, shall we?"

And for the rest of the day, Aaron and Hercules taught James to cheat at 'Jack trades' until finally, the seventeenth time they played this game, all of them cheating, James won first.

"Jack trades!" he proclaimed, losing his last card, attacking the card Aaron had placed on the table to attack him.

"What?!" Aaron complained, picking up the cards into his hand, "Hey! I thought we had a thing going on to beat him together!" he pointed at Hercules.

"What? A conspiracy against me! How could you?" he sniffled dramatically.

"All's fair in love and war, my heart," Aaron kissed Hercules' cheek, "And you conspired against me with him the last time, so don't you dare complain!" he had sneakily stolen a good card from Hercules' hand without him noticing.

"I guess this would be fair- where's my Tile 7?" he noticed his card gone and James snickered. "Aaron! I noticed it gone, give it back!" he demanded but Aaron shook his head.

"You didn't notice when I took it! Those are the rules, my heart. Only if you notice while I cheat!" he giggled and Hercules grumbled.

"Well, anyway. Trade ya," he said, putting his second to last card on to attack Aaron, but Aaron only grinned, putting down a card that was higher in value and shoved it right back at Hercules.

"You were saying?" he grinned and Hercules' mouth fell agape in angry shock.

"When did you get a Tile 9?!" he yelped, outraged. James toppled over laughing, shooting Aaron a thumbs up. "You two _were_ conspiring against me! Even after you won, James!" Hercules groaned

"You're welcome, Aaron!" James smirked.

"Thank you!" he sang and Hercules put another card on the table, shoving it at Aaron in an attack, but Aaron put down the Tile 7 he had stolen to cover it and put a higher card on top and shoved it at Hercules in an attack. "Trade ya!" he sang and grinned, which Hercules met with his own grin.

"How about this?" he grinned and put the Tile 9 onto the cards and shoved it to Aaron who gasped dramatically.

"Oh, woes! Whatever shall I do?" and he slammed down his last card onto Hercules'. "Jack trades!" he proclaimed, winning.

"What! When and where did you-" Hercules groaned, but was interrupted by Aaron kissing him, "Ah, that is when. You little cheater. My little mastermind," he smiled and kissed Aaron back, "I'm angry and proud." Aaron grinned at this and James chuckled.

"I think he's only smug at this point," James pointed out, pointing at Aaron, "Shouldn't have worked with him. And you should stop stroking his ego, it's gotten big enough the last couple of games already and refuses to go down," he laughed. Aaron draped himself over Hercules.

"No, keep going," he demanded and Hercules laughed and cuddled him.

"Of course! You're my little brilliant mastermind, love!" he cooed and Aaron grinned, kissing his cheek. James shook his head.

"I think we should clean up here and head to bed. Wouldn't you agree?" he asked and Aaron and Hercules nodded.

"Yeah, I'm tired! Tomorrow we can practice your walking, right, my heart?" Aaron nodded and Hercules agreed.

"Yeah, let's head to bed," he nodded and Aaron and James hopped off of the cloud, Aaron pushing it forwards, summoning the black door leading to the bedroom which the three of them had shared in the past five years, due to the lack of other bedrooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, 'Jack trades' isn't a real game and it couldn't be played with the kind of cards we have (Tile iis a type of card here) Basically, how the game works is: You put a card on the table 'attacking' the next person and if they can't put a card on top to cover it (with a higher value) they have to take the card. If they put a higher value card on it they attack the next person with it who has to cover the top card and if they cn't, they have to pick all the cards up. You say 'Trade ya' if only have one card left and 'Jack trades!' when you lose your last card. It's a bit like an actual game I know, but I can't remember its name. Also, 'Jack trades' wouldn't work with our cards, being designed for a broader deck and longer game.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That sudden realisation that you've been spelling something wrong the whole time and you silently beg for the merciful release of death because that is so fucking embarrassing...

James sat alone in the bedroom with a blush on his cheeks and Alexander's unsent letters, his favourite of them, not all, sitting in a neat stack beside him and one letter in his hands. He sighed dreamily. Aaron and Hercules were in the library, leaving him to some solitude and the letters they weren't quite aware he had. There was no doubt that Aaron had his assumptions, perhaps even an inkling of a clue, but no definite proof of anything. Aaron and Hercules were in the library, Aaron helping Hercules to try and walk, at which Hercules was getting better and better with every step. He wasn't nearly as weak in the knees as the week before. In fact, he could mostly walk on his own with Aaron only nearby should his legs decide to weaken on him and make him fall, which, until now, they thankfully didn't. Aaron kept close in case he did fall, but otherwise gave Hercules the space to walk.

"Looks good!" Aaron encouraged and Hercules smiled.

"I wish James would've given me some extra of that potion he'd found. What did he call it?" Hercules asked and Aaron shook his head.

"Moon tear potion, and I haven't a clue where he got it from. I know Alexander keeps his potions in a room that switches between the west and north hall a lot, but there's no way he just stumbled into the room. It's locked with purple chains, high security, and he can't recreate those, and they were still on the door when I checked, so he didn't get in there. Makes me wonder how he got it..." Aaron supplied and Hercules carefully walked back to him.

"But you still trust him?" he asked and Aaron nodded.

"Yeah, he's trustworthy. But I can feel he's hiding something from us," he thought out loud.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that. Yeah, he's hiding something, and I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's another thing that's going on with him. Should we confront him about it?" he asked, arriving at Aaron with a grin at having accomplished the small way. Aaron put a hand to his chin in thought.

"I'm not sure the timing's good..." he shook his head with a hum.

"I get what you mean, I think. With how busy we are right now," Hercules gestured generally around them.

"I was thinking more his emotional status. He seems... Well, he _seems_ fine on the outside, but I get the feeling he's not. And I feel like it's connected to whatever he's hiding from us," Aaron explained and Hercules nodded.

"Then... when should we confront him?" Hercules asked, stretching his legs.

"Hm... I suppose our timing will be off no matter when we would... But... let's do it after the next temple. I'm sure we can figure out how to express our concerns until then. What do you say?" he asked and Hercules grinned, kissing him.

"I think you're brilliant, love," Hercules grinned against Aaron's lips and Aaron blushed with a sheepish smile.

"Sweet talker, you. You know you make my face go red as blood with that," Aaron couldn't help the grin that crept onto his lips. Hercules gave his lips a quick peck with a grin.

"Who's to say that wasn't my end goal?" he asked with a grin and Aaron scoffed.

"Of course, it was, what was I thinking. Can you walk?" he changed the topic and Hercules looked down at his legs with a hum and then decidedly nodded.

"I suppose I can. It doesn't hurt, they're not weak," he gestured toward his legs, "And I don't keep falling like the first week. They're as good as new!"

"That's good to hear! Think you can handle your brethren?" Aaron smiled sympathetically and Hercules sighed, looking to the side. Aaron put an arm around him and pulled him close in a cuddle.

"I really don't want to see them again... not this soon... I wonder how they'd react were I to tell them about us," the thought made a grin creep onto his face as Aaron grimaced. "They'd absolutely hate it!" he laughed and Aaron chuckled.

"No, I'd rather not the entire realm know that we're lovers. It would put the two of us in the foreground unnecessarily, and I'm not a fan of the gods' attention. They could hurt you, my heart, and I will have none of that," Aaron commented and Hercules chuckled.

"Don't put my safety before yours. I'm immortal, you're not, and I'd rather you stay among the living just a bit longer. I'm not a fan of the idea they could hurt you, either. I'm not sure what I'd do if they hurt or, worse, killed you," Hercules snuggled into Aaron.

"How about you bust me out of the underworld? Then I'd be an immortal spirit with you," Aaron grinned and Hercules shook his head.

"Lafayette would not allow for that to happen, ever. He's strict about that. No dead person may leave the underworld, and anyone who tries is punished severely. I'd rather not have you suffer eternally for my stupidity," Hercules said and Aaron agreed.

"It does sound unpleasant. Now, how about you and I head down to give his temple a visit, hm? See what the artefact is, the spell- I have a feeling I know what kind of spell it's gonna be and that's both exciting and terrifying, but my curiosity is piqued!" Aaron stood up, gently pulling himself away from Hercules, who nodded in agreement with him and stood up as well. In agreement, they exited the library and headed towards the main hall, exiting the palace and exiting through the protection spell, at which Aaron was once again unpleasantly reminded of how they still needed to find Alexander, and the guilt of not having found him yet - or having given his disappearance a lot of thought in the past years - seeped into his bones and soured his mood for a moment, until he quite literally swatted the thought away in favour of the present. He reminded himself there was no worth in worrying and beating himself up over something like this, something completely out of his control, a higher force if you will.

With a sigh and a reassuring smile from Hercules - bless his heart, Aaron thought - they exited the gods' realm and ventured into the mortals' realm below. Aaron carried Hercules downwards until they reached the ground and Aaron gently set Hercules on the ground. A quick glance around assured Hercules that this was the right place.

"This is the place?" Aaron asked with a raised brow and Hercules nodded decisively.

"Yeah, just around the corner is where we need to be! The waterfall is right over there," Hercules said with confidence.

"This place feels... familiar..." Aaron said. He wasn't sure why this place felt as familiar as it did, but the feeling made a shiver run down his spine like he was being watched by something that had long passed and the feeling made him incredibly uncomfortable. Almost like the feeling he had had in the Winding Woods. He wanted to get away from this place.

"Does it?" Hercules asked, raising a brow in intrigue. Aaron simply nodded, glaring at the ground before him in an attempt to ignore this odd feeling he was getting from this place. "Well, if you don't like how the place makes you feel, we can simply move on!" Hercules smiled reassuringly at Aaron, who sighed and nodded, giving Hercules an appreciative smile. They continued on, led by Hercules' memory of the place. "I remember," Hercules started with a grin, "The day Alexander came here, with Thomas I think, to play a prank on us. He pushed us into the pond below the waterfall - the pond is the link to the underworld - and then used his winds to blow leaves onto us, covering us head to toe with them!" he let out a loud laugh, "That was hilarious! You should have seen them, love, soaking wet and covered in leaves! I would have used feathers, personally, but I suppose Alexander's a fan of the _old_ old classics." Aaron laughed at that. The image he had in his head of Hercules he found just too funny.

"I bet you looked good like that," he played and Hercules grinned at him.

"And I bet it would be a good look on you too," Hercules smirked and Aaron giggled while a blush crept onto his cheeks.

"Alright, enough teasing, my heart. We should focus now, I think. How far till the waterfall?" he asked, taking a step closer to Hercules so they walked closer together. Hercules gave a quick glance around.

"Two-minute walk in that direction," he pointed, "Then we should be there... I really don't want to see them again this soon," he sighed and Aaron patted his shoulder in a comforting manner.

"It'll be fine. It'll be weird, and awkward, and probably somewhat hostile, but it'll be alright. You'll be fine, I just know you will," Aaron took Hercules hand into his own and squeezed it encouragingly and Hercules couldn't help the smile that found its way onto his lips and he murmured a small 'thank you' into Aaron's ear as they continued walking to where Hercules had pointed. Aaron had faith in Hercules, so much faith in him.

"I hope so... I wonder if they've changed in any way... But they're probably all still pricks," he huffed and Aaron chuckled but said nothing as they quietly walked, at ease with each other. Then, suddenly, Hercules made them stand still. He pulled Aaron to the side behind a small collection of trees standing tightly together. "And there they are..." Hercules whispered and Aaron chanced a look to where Hercules was looking. The waterfall caught his attention first, then the muses around the pond. Hercules hummed displeased. Aaron gave them a quick look over, noting who they were.

"Who is who?" he then asked quietly, as to not make the other muses notice them.

"That there is Peggy," Hercules pointed, "She's the muse of song and dance. That is John, he's the muse of tragedy. Samuel over there is the muse of speeches and Charles over there is the muse of comedy." Aaron hummed. Peggy was playing a song on a lyre, but it didn't sound right to his ears how she played it. The sounds the lyre made were just wrong, but she didn't seem to notice or care for that matter. There were stacks upon stacks of papers next to them, empty stack on the left, filled stacks on the right and they were surrounded by ink.

"Not very impressive, I admit I had a different picture of them in mind, though I suppose that is my fault," Aaron hummed.

"Well, Alexander did take away the gifts he had given them. Peggy's music just isn't the same on a regular lyre..." Hercules muttered.

"Shall we disrupt the scene for our own play then?" Aaron asked and Hercules nodded.

"You got the bow?" he asked and Aaron nodded as well, pulling out the bow he had acquired in the water temple. "And you're sure the temple of death is behind the waterfall?"

"Sure as I'll ever be. You just keep the muses distracted and away and I'll be in and out of that temple in a jiffy. Get the artefact, the spell, the directions to the next temple and done. You think you can keep them away for long enough?" Aaron replied and Hercules nodded.

"Shouldn't be too difficult. It's only been thirty years, they shouldn't have changed much," Hercules mused and Aaron raised a brow.

"I keep forgetting that you're not human and don't change as quickly as we would..." Aaron rubbed the back of his head with a hum. "Alright, let's do this then..." he said and Hercules nodded.

Aaron, with Hercules' help, because he was afraid the wings on his sandals would make too much noise, climbed the nearest tree until he was sitting on one of the more sturdy branches so that it wouldn't break and give away his position. He hid well in the tree's branches and had a good view of the waterfall and the muses in front of it. He held his breath as Hercules emerged from the bushes into view. The muses immediately stopped what they were doing and sneered at him.

"What do _you_ want here?" John snarled and Hercules shrugged.

"Can't I pay you a visit?" he asked innocently. John scoffed, as did Samuel. Charles looked to the side, almost as if in pain and Peggy ignored him completely.

"A visit from a traitor? I don't recall any of us wishing for that," John spat and Hercules rolled his eyes.

"Just missed home, is all," Hercules said but Charles interrupted him.

"I thought you made yourself a new home in the winds home with that mortal!" there was an undeniable pain in his voice and Aaron winced at it, "You left us for a dead god, Poetry! And you expect us to welcome you with open arms?!"

"Well, not exactly, but must we really fight over this? What's the point in fighting?" Hercules shrugged and John groaned.

"You left us for a dead god! Don't you understand what you've done!" John yelled and stood up from the rock he had been sitting on. Hercules frowned.

"All I've done is stand by a friend. Which is what Alexander is to me, which is what he should have been to you, no matter that he's dead!" Hercules got louder and angrily approached John, who glared him down. The other muses, except Peggy, stood up as well, sensing the obvious aggression.

"No matter that he's dead? That should matter the most to you! He's dead, he's disgraced! And look at what he's done to us!" John yelled, pushing Hercules back.

"What did he do! Oh no, he took away what he had given to you in the first place!" Hercules shoved John, who almost fell into the pond, but could catch himself just barely.

"Those were _our_ parchment and ink! That was _our_ divine lyre! And he threw them down the pond to the underworld!" John yelled, louder than before. If Aaron didn't know this was part of his plan (agitating the muses) he would have wanted to intervene.

"Again, those were _his_ things, that he had given you! And you ungrateful jerks, you don't stand by him one bit, not when he needed others the most!" he accused, shoving John again who growled and snarled at him.

"Why should we! He's dead!" he screamed and Hercules actually got angry.

"Who helped you when you just came into existence? Who taught you what you were supposed to do? Who encouraged you to do it? When you were confused and frightened the very first time your powers were called for, just who was it that pushed you in the right direction! He was there for all of us! He was there for us and he helped us when we couldn't help ourselves, and this, _this_ is how you repay him!" he shoved John so hard that he fell into the pond with a yelp, "What do you even know!"

The muses gasped at his outburst, but their demeanour quickly changed to that of rage. Samuel, with a screech, attacked Hercules from behind and hit him over the head. Hercules spun around and didn't let the hit disturb him and pushed Samuel away from him, but had to dodge a kick coming from Peggy who was screaming at him that he was a bloody traitor and deserved the same fate that had befallen Alexander. Charles helped John out of the pond, who pushed him to the side in favour of attacking Hercules. He called him a filthy traitor and threw punches at him, which Hercules only barely avoided. Hercules saw his chance in an opening and ran. The muses ran after him, except for Charles, who stood there confused for a moment, confused and conflicted. Finally, even Charles ran after them, calling out after them that it isn't worth it.

After witnessing this display, and having to hold himself back from defending Hercules, Aaron winced, but pulled out the bow from under his cloak and pulled at the string. An arrow appeared, made of blue light or glowing water, Aaron wasn't sure. He aimed, he let go and the arrow whizzed throw the air in a flash, hitting the waterfall perfectly and parting the falling water. He jumped from the branch he was sitting on and flitted to it, rushing through the opening. He turned around, fastened the bow to his back, and moved his fingers in reverse of the parting water spell, and the waterfall closed behind him. He didn't want to chance the muses coming back early to find the entrance and then corner him. If they did come back early he was willing to deal with them then, having the element of surprise on his side would ensure his escape, he knew. He turned around and began venturing into the temple. The entrance was a long hallway that led ever so slightly downwards. He gulped, the inscriptions upon the walls told of the deeds of the god of Death throughout the centuries. There were bones and skulls scattered around, an indicator of life unlike in all those other temples, and it unnerved Aaron to some degree. Something had just wiped the priests out of existence, or something else must have happened in those other temples.

He tripped and fell to the ground with a surprised yelp. When he looked at what had made him trip, he winced. It was a skeleton with a hand outstretched after him. He pulled his feet to himself and scrambled up and away from the skeleton. He let a moment pass, then laughed at himself for being so jumpy. He inspected the skeleton, it wore odd clothing. As he looked at the clothing, the robes this skeleton wore, he noticed a brooch holding it together. It had a symbol on it much like his own cloak, but it also had the symbol for the spell of 'moving mountains' on it and the robes were a deep brown, lighter or deeper here and there. He hummed intrigued. He rid the skeleton of the brooch and pocketed it, thinking it might be useful later on. He gave a quick look around at the other skeletons he found in the hallway with him. They were all wearing the same robes as the skeleton he had tripped over. He concluded that they were all priests from the earth temple. He wondered, why had they all come here? And what killed them then? How did they die, he wondered. He continued and he read the text written on the walls trying to find a clue as to what happened here. Once he exited the hallway - he found nothing, no clue to what had led up to these people dying - he noticed that the place didn't smell like death like he would have thought. He knew how death smelled or could smell like, it wasn't a pleasant smell, but there was nothing of that smell here, so either these people had died such a long time ago that the smell had had time to dissipate or they had died in such a way that preserved them to that extent. Any way he turned it, he found no clue to what happened and why things where the way they were in this place and the text on the walls gave away nothing. He ventured further, he wanted to get back to Hercules as soon as possible and so he didn't waste time with reading too much into the texts on the walls. He found a room that was mostly empty, at least the walls were mostly empty. The floor, however, was simply filled with skeletons lying about, but these skeletons had differently coloured robes on than the ones in the hallway. These robes were all red, with varying shades of it. He inspected one of the skeletons' robes and found another brooch, this time with the symbol for the spell of 'bearing fire'. He let the skeleton fall to the floor again as he pocketed the brooch and continued walking through the room, shoving skeletons away with his feet as they lay in his path. The walls were only covered in little texts, with skeletons sitting below them, arms stretched upwards and he concluded they had written these things while dying. He took note of some of them, not bothering to read them just now but promising himself he'd go over them later.

He exited the room and wandered into the next. It was just like the previous one, mostly empty walls but floor littered with skeletons. These skeletons wore grey robes and as he inspected one of them he found a brooch with the same symbol as his own on it, the symbol for the spell of 'wielding winds'. He hummed and decided not to pocket this one. As he moved onto the next room he found more skeletons, but with blue robes held together by brooches with the symbol for the spell of 'parting water' on it, which he pocketed, of course. As he went on to the next room, he had expected more skeletons littering the floor, but he winced when a wave of the smell of death hit his nose full on. He hadn't expected it, and he hadn't expected to see skeletons hanging from the ceiling. They were just out of reach but he flew up to them to inspect their robes. They were a very dark grey, almost black but not quite, and he quickly took off the brooch that was holding this skeleton's robes together. Te robes fell to the ground as Aaron inspected the symbol on the brooch. It looked odd. Two halves of a circle, separated by a line that went down but didn't quite leave outside of where the lines of the two halves would have connected. Instead, there was a vertical line touching the first, an upside down T. He pocketed it and went on his merry way. He almost expected more skeletons in the next room, but only found a pedestal with a book on it. Aaron's brows furrowed as he approached the book and the smell of death and something rotting worsened in his nose. Once he stood closer to the book he hissed and winced. The book was made of human skin.

"What on... Why? Why would anyone do this?" he grimaced and flipped the book open. It felt weird touching his hand and he shuddered and almost recoiled, but he flipped through the book, trying to find the instructions for performing the spell. Finally, at the very end of the book, he found it. He took a small step away from the book and stretched out his hands. He knew the spell by hand would mimic the symbol, but he liked having instructions as well and not just going off of assumptions. He balled his hands into fists then stretched his thumbs and index fingers out, pressing the nails of his thumbs together. He then moved his fingers down, drawing the two halves of a circle with them. He then dragged his thumbs down and apart in opposing directions from each other, drawing the T. He nodded. It was simple enough. He only needed something to... test it out. He gave a quick look around the room. There were walls of flowers opposite to him and on his left and right and he approached the wall opposing him quickly, wanting to get away from the book made of skin as soon as possible. The flowers on the wall were nice, all completely green with white little fruit in ball-form here and there. He stretched out his hands and performed the spell. The spell was called 'Taking Death's Hand' and as he performed it, he yelped as his right hand seemed to rot away, leaving only bone there. His eyes widened and he jumped back, as though that did anything, as he stared at his hand, terrified. The flesh of his hand only rotted away till his wrist and he whimpered as he moved his fingers. Slowly, he recollected his thoughts. He let out a nervous laugh.

"Didn't think the spell would be this... literal..." he mumbled to himself with another nervous laugh. He took in a deep breath, "Calm yourself... just perform the spell... it should turn back to... to normal..." he assured himself, "Like it always is with these spells... perform then and it turns back to normal... Oh boy..."

He approached the wall of flowers again and he didn't even have to touch them, but barely hold his hand over them, and small balls of light came from the flowers into his hand, slowly restoring the flesh that had rotted away and Aaron let out a relieved sigh. The wall of flowers withered and died away, leaving an entrance open for him to explore. His hand was now fully restored to its former state and he breathed out.

"Freaky... I like it," he grinned despite himself. He was intrigued by this spell. He felt a small surge of power within himself. It was a tiny surge of power, but he undeniably felt it and decided he would try it on something bigger later to see if he could feel more of it. He stepped through the new entrance and immediately his gaze was drawn to the pedestal in the middle of the room, upon which sat, from what he could tell from this far away, a sickle. There was another skeleton sitting next to it with a dark grey robe which meant he was a priest from this temple. He approached the pedestal quickly, as to not waste more time, and inspected the artefact on top. It was a sickle, but there was a twist to it. Its handle was the hand of a skeleton, upon which the symbol of the spell was.

"This is a bit on the nose, don't you think?" he directly asked the skeleton as he picked up the sickle and the hand that was the handle suddenly gripped his hand. Aaron yelped and let go of it, but the handle wouldn't let go of him. With wide eyes he stared at the sickle, waiting for the grip of the skeleton handle to tighten, or for something else to happen, but nothing did. He carefully and gently pried the fingers of the handle off of his hand and eventually, the skeleton hand went limp. Curious, he grabbed the handle again, with his right hand this time, and the skeleton hand closed around his, as though they were holding hands and it was a comfortable grip. Aaron snorted.

"Alright," Aaron said to himself, "Let's get outta here. I really don't want to be near that weird book. Human skin- who even does that?" he shuddered, "And I'm talking to myself..." 

He looked around and found more text on the walls. He ignored the stories and directly looked for the directions he was sure would be written somewhere on these walls, and, surely enough, he found them and scribbled them down in his notebook and he exited both this and the room with the book and walked through all the other rooms until he found himself in the hallway again.

As soon as he approached the waterfall he halted. He kept quiet, kept his steps gentle, as he listened for anything outside of the waterfall, anything at all. But the water from the waterfall was too loud for him to make out anything. He groaned. He'd have to chance it. For all he knew the muses could be outside of that waterfall. Not waiting for him, because they had no way of knowing he was in there, but they would still be out there and a potential threat, perhaps. He'd thought 'perhaps' because he wasn't sure how threatening the power of the muses were to his own well-being. He had only seen them physically attacking Hercules - who thankfully was able to dodge every attack except for the shoving which didn't do any damage whatsoever - so he was sure he could handle that, especially with Nae to help out. He took a deep breath in and steeled himself. He lifted his hands and performed the spell for 'parting water'. He focused on making the opening just big enough for him to flit through, but no stay open for too long. The water of the waterfall parted, a small hole, just big enough for his body and he just made for it. He jumped and flew through the hole, being vaguely aware of it closing behind him and he dashed forwards, ignoring the yelps of the muses behind him and one of them even falling into the pond because they were startled. He made the clouds up above, knowing a gate to the realm of gods lay just behind them.

He didn't stop until he had made it inside the palace and he found Hercules sitting on a cloud in the main hall like they had agreed upon. Aaron grinned and waved the hand he held the sickle in. Hercules looked startled and Aaron laughed.

"It's the artefact of the temple! And it's taking the name of the spell of the temple a bit too literal," Aaron snorted and Hercules raised a brow.

"What is its name?" he asked.

"'Taking Death's Hand'," Aaron chuckled and Hercules burst out laughing.

"Yeah, that is extremely literal! So, do you have the directions to the next temple?" he asked and Aaron nodded, sitting down next to Hercules and opening his notebook, pointing at something he had written down which, of course, Hercules couldn't read.

"According to the inscription the next temple is the temple of life. And if I've learned anything regarding these temples it's that the previous temple helps to get into the next one and this..." he looked at the sickle with a thoughtful expression and Hercules followed his train of thought with a worried frown.

"So you'll have to kill someone?" he asked.

"Something will die, I suppose. I mean, perhaps it's just going to be flowers or other plants or something along those lines. Though it could always be something else entirely. I... don't have anything against killing something bigger, I'm just afraid that if I kill something the god of Death will notice and not like it too much. Though it shouldn't be too much different from murdering another human being. I mean, I've done that, and he didn't care... so maybe I'll be good? I'm just not too sure and that scares me..." Aaron admitted with a sigh and Hercules nodded. "Anyway, did anything substantial happen with the muses?" he asked and Hercules shook his head.

"Nothing too insulting. They wished Alexander's fate unto me like that's new," he rolled his eyes. "James has yet to come out of our room. I wonder what he's doing in there..."

"Ah, yes, we wanted to confront him about his current state. Let me just put the sickle away and then we can ask him about it. This thing here needs a room within the room with black shackles and chains, not just purple," he said and left to put the sickle away.

Hercules sat alone in the main hall and thought about what the muses had said to him. They had wished Alexander's fate upon him, which he thought would mean death, but that was stupid. Even if they wanted him dead, they must know that he can't die, ever. Wishing it upon him was just stupid, they had to know that it just made them look stupid to him and anyone who might have heard them. This whole thing seemed odd to him, but he shrugged it off as soon as Aaron returned.

"Ready for confrontation?" he asked and Aaron shook his head with a groan.

"I hate confrontation..." he grumbled and looked to the side, "But this needs to be done I suppose..."

"Come on, I bet it'll be quick," Hercules reassured him and Aaron sighed.

"I'd rather read through that book made of skin than confront anyone today..." he muttered and Hercules raised a brow, "Yes, human skin. It was disgusting, absolutely disgusting..."

"It won't be as bad as you think it will be. You're great at confrontations, love, this'll be no different!" Hercules encouraged.

"Still not a fan," Aaron sighed but nodded his head, "Let's confront him then..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really like this spell that Aaron learned here, it's my favourite! My second favourite would be the next one, so buckle up folks! Because only a few more temples are left before something cool will happen ;) Now excuse me, while I edit every chapter before this that had this one word I kept spelling wrong and I am embarrassed...


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor James

Alexander grumbled quietly in the phial as the Judge listened to a god (he really didn't care who it was) complain about something or other. Alexander had given up really listening to whatever was going on outside of his prison. He was sure he would prefer the madness that came with loneliness to the Judge's cold company. He wished he could be anywhere else. He wished he could be back with Aaron and hold him and let him know that everything was okay. But he wasn't there with Aaron and he couldn't hold him and he couldn't tell him that everything was okay. And he couldn't be told in turn that everything was okay, as he knew Aaron would reassure him were he here. He sighed and let his mind wander, the only past time he had in this dreary place of misery and agony. And his mind wandered into the past, a thing he had very mixed feelings about. His mind wandered back to a day. A day where he had gotten his most curious insulting nickname.

_Shortly, after a successful prank, he basked in the chaotic aftermath, the insults and the curses of loathing and hate and frustrations. He had bitterly grown to love these sounds of displeasure at his pranks. Before his death, other gods had taken delight in his pranks, even if they were directed at them and not at another god while they got to watch. But the moment he had died, and hadn't disappeared, everything had changed. Alexander was enjoying the scene, the aftermath of his latest prank, on the god of the stars, with malicious joy. Suddenly, the god of the stars shot a shooting star at him and screamed at him._

_"YOU WEED! YOU DIRTY LITTLE VERMIN OF A WEED!" the god of the stars yelled, taking Alexander by surprise._

He remembered it so distinctly, he felt like he was out of the phial for a moment, though the feeling was like the softest kiss upon his skin, fleeting the next moment. He wanted to get out of this phial so desperately. But this nickname, weed, had stuck with him, had stuck in his memory, and it had been the god of the stars' go-to insult from that point onwards. Weed. A weed. Alexander chuckled bitterly. It fit rather nicely, he had to admit, to himself. Like a weed, he couldn't be gotten rid of, at least not completely. Like a weed, he always came back. All much to the annoyance of the gods. He couldn't help the chuckle that slenderly rattled out of his mouth to echo within the confines of the phial. He couldn't help the tears that escaped his eyes as he felt a pain surge through his body yet again, one that -he recognized too well for his own comfort. He felt for his hands, but they were gone and the realisation of what this meant came to him in a sudden surge, yet gentle, almost, at how familiar this feeling was to him. He thought back and reflected, to some degree, but most of his thoughts wandered to Aaron. And he must be going crazy, for, in the bleak darkness of the phial, he made out Aaron's face smiling at him comfortingly, and he knew, with an accepting sigh, this wasn't him, but he let himself believe the opposite, if only for the false and fleeting moment and wave of comfort that washed over him at the sight of his best friend.

"I wonder how you are..." he whispered. The Judge heard him, but his words confused him. The Judge didn't know what was going on in the phial. "Are my friends taking care of you in my absence? How much time has passed, I wonder."

And the thought occurred to him that Aaron might have died. The Judge, as far as Alexander was aware, had not made much fuss about finding Aaron lately. Perhaps Aaron had already died. The notion, while it made Alexander horribly uncomfortable, gave him some hope for his best friend. The god of Death would surely make sure he isn't bothered too much in the realm of the dead. Aaron would finally be safe, safer than he had ever been when he was alive. Of course, Alexander would never see him again if this were the case, but he knew too well that he would gladly take this if it meant Aaron would be safe. He wanted him to be safe, and he knew the god of Death could, if he cared enough or just not at all, provide this safety for him. Aaron could not be harmed, dead in the underworld. While Alexander didn't want Aaron to die while there was still so much he needed to see and feel and experience, he realised that death wouldn't be the worst fate to befall him. He merely hoped, meekly, that the Judge wouldn't be the one to take his life from him, for he knew that the Judge would kill him in such a way that his soul would die as well, burn out like a fire on wet wood, never to be ignited on that same spot again, break it into a thousand pieces and scatter it upon the mortals' realm, never for the shards of his soul to be brought together into a whole again.

 

Aaron, with a sigh that was meant to steel him for the upcoming confrontation, summoned the black door to their bedroom and lightly knocked against it to warn James of their presence. James gave an acknowledging 'Come in' and Aaron and Hercules entered the room, just in time to see James, his back turned to the pair, put his hat back on, positioning it to cover the left half of his face, and folding up one of Alexander's unsent letters and putting them away, in some pocket in his robes. Aaron regarded this with a calculating gaze, analysing the image in front of him. He didn't know about the letters, and he was curious about them.

"James..." Aaron began and James turned around to face them with a curious expression. "There might be something we should talk about..." Aaron was careful with his wording, but James eyes filled with dread at his words regardless and Aaron felt pity for him as he would have reacted no differently were someone to approach him this way. "Hercules and I," he continued, "We think we noticed something off about you... It's been there for a while and I felt it, but I suppose we were never quite sure whether or when we should confront you about it."

"And you think now's the time?" James asked, unsure of where this would lead. The frown on his lips made the scars on the left half of his face sting noticeably. The pain had never faded into non-existence, but over the years he had learned how to ignore it sufficiently, though every once in a while, like now, the pain acted up again. He cursed the scar for choosing this exact moment for hurting again. Aaron nodded at his question.

"We figured there would never be a good time, per se, so it wouldn't matter when," Hercules supplied and nodded as well. James reached for the letters he kept close to his chest and let his finger brush over the paper in order to calm himself. Aaron noticed this with curiosity.

"I don't know for how long something's been off about you, but I know it has been quite a while. We feel that, perhaps, you are hiding something from us and..." Aaron wasn't sure just how to put it into words and he looked at Hercules for help who was just as unsure as he was, suddenly.

"H-hiding something? What would I hide from you?" James asked with a nervous tone that only seemed to strengthen Aaron's suspicions. Aaron nodded and looked directly at James. Something felt so off about how James contorted his face in nervousness and- Aaron halted. He found a quick flash of pain appearing on James' face. Not the sort of pain one had in an awkward or uncomfortable situation, but a physical one. He furrowed his brows, gears running and turning in his head.

"That's what we should ask you, I think. I- We don't mean to pressure you, James, with this. We just... we just feel like you are hiding something from us. It could just be something minor, or stupid. Perhaps something embarrassing, in which case, I totally understand and-" Hercules said, and then something clicked in Aaron's head and he interrupted him.

"Your hat," he began and James flinched. His suspicions confirmed, Aaron continued, "You've covered the left half of your face for five years. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable; as you know, I also prefer to keep my face covered, but it has made me curious that you only cover the left half. And... Ah, I remember. You started wearing it shortly before we had left for the water temple. You had stayed in the moon for a few days... James, does this have anything to do with that?"

James looked away. He didn't want to answer. He didn't want to tell Aaron and Hercules the truth, but he also didn't want to lie to them. It was bad enough that he felt he couldn't tell them about what had happened to him, what Thomas had done to him.

"I..." he tried to explain himself, but he couldn't form a sentence. Aaron nodded, understanding.

"You don't feel comfortable talking about it," he stated and James nodded.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I know... I _think_ I know I can trust you, that I can trust that at least you, Aaron, will understand, but... there's this other side in me that screams at me that you won't and... and I'm afraid to find out if that side is right... I... so many things have happened, I have done so many things that would warrant you to reconsider your trust in me, your trust for which I am ever so grateful you decided to give me; I really don't deserve it... Perhaps it's this what you feel I'm hiding..." James tried to articulate and Aaron nodded.

"That sounds about right," he said and Hercules looked a little lost.

"I've done things I'm not proud of... and... and what happened because of that was completely warranted..." James attempted to summon his courage. Perhaps this was the time to tell Aaron his role in Alexander's disappearance, or what Thomas had done to him.

"It's okay, James. We know now that we were right to worry. You don't have to tell us if you don't feel comfortable," Aaron put a hand on James' shoulder to reassure him but James shook his head.

"No, I-... I want to tell you, but... I'm afraid you won't believe me or understand and... that I'll lose your trust for which I worked so hard. I don't want to lose your trust, I want to help you, fix my mistakes, redeem myself for what I've done and..." he had trouble speaking his thoughts out loud, but Aaron, miraculously, understood.

"James, while I still have to find out what you've done to make you feel this intense need to fix it and redeem yourself, you mustn't be afraid of losing my trust. Whatever you've done, I still trust you. Simply because I can feel that you have changed. I could feel, even back then when we met for the second time and I played the bell lyre for you, I have seen what it, whatever you had done might have been, I've seen what it did to you. I've seen the darkness in your eyes, numbing you, hurting you, making you regret and- well, that is the only thing that matters. You regretted what you've done, and you strive to fix it. I admire this, I really do. You won't lose my trust. I only want to know what happened to you, which you feel the need for to hide from us," Aaron soothingly brushed the back of his hand over James' right cheek to comfort and reassure him, "I'm not asking to know what you've done in the past for your regret. And I promise whatever this thing in your past was, it won't change that I trust you a lot. And whatever it is that you're hiding from us, I promise it will change nothing between me and you. Whenever you're ready, you can tell us, but don't force yourself."

James looked at Aaron with such a grateful smile it made Hercules' heart melt. James' eyes were slightly teary, but he nodded and Aaron felt some relief.

"I... want to tell you... But I don't know how..." James finally lamented and Aaron nodded. James was so grateful for how understanding Aaron was, he could hardly believe he was so lucky as to have the trust, and possibly the friendship, of such a great mortal.

"That's okay, too!" Aaron smiled reassuringly, "I know how difficult it can be to find the words to describe something, especially something that's been nagging at you for this long."

James considered for a moment. He trusted Aaron and Hercules, more than he ever imagined he would someday. He regarded them as close friends, even if they might not see it the same way. He thought a moment. While he couldn't see it, he could vaguely feel Aaron smile reassuringly, waiting for him to reply. Finally, he nodded decisively, more to himself than to either Aaron or Hercules. With trembling hands, he nervously reached for the hat and gripped at it tightly.

"I could show you..." he said quietly, piquing Aaron's curiosity and confusing Hercules with what he meant.

"What do you mean-" Hercules attempted to ask but James had already pulled off the hat, revealing to them the scars which Thomas had cursed him with. Aaron's eyes widened in shock, covering his mouth with one hand. Hercules was more shocked than Aaron, almost stumbling back, or forwards as his feet couldn't decide where they wanted to go, and he gasped loudly.

"What happened to you?" Aaron gasped softly, scooting closer to James to inspect the wound and scar tissue. He didn't dare touch it, of course, but he regarded it and James with worry. What James didn't know was that the scars had developed into a numb, yet glaring grey, and the scar tissue pulsated sickly, like there were worms crawling under his skin to the beating of his heart, eating through his flesh.

"Thomas..." he finally confessed and Aaron's eyes widened in shock and then turned into such a burning rage that James grew afraid.

" _He_?! Thomas?!" he growled with venom dripping from his mouth at the name. Then he looked back at James and his gaze softened. "He did this to you?" he asked more softly and James nodded.

"It's... his strongest curse. Silver fire... Once it has burned you... the pain never stops... there is no way to cure it, no way to reverse it, and it hurts forever... It happened five years ago... I should've told you sooner, I'm sorry..." James looked at the ground in shame. Aaron didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. He hadn't expected this at all, any of this. His gaze upon James' left eye was full of sympathy and a wish he could have prevented this. Then, he noticed how James' left eye was grey. He halted. He gently put a hand under James' chin and lifted it so James looked at him. He furrowed his brows, unsure.

"James... your eye..." he began softly and James vaguely nodded.

"It's blind..." he provided and Aaron sucked in a breath that made it sound like a hiss. There was such a seething, burning rage bubbling and boiling inside him that he could barely control his body, which was trembling with the same fury as was developing inside of him.

"I am going to kill him," he hissed and got up from where he had sat down beside James and he made his way to the door. James jumped up, frightened.

"No!" he yelped and Aaron stopped just in the doorway. Hercules didn't know what to say or do. He wanted Aaron to calm down, but he also felt a rage burning inside him that mirrored Aaron's and he was very tempted to join him in an attempt to kill the god of the sun. "No, please Aaron, I deserve this, it's nothing really! It won't do any good if you try to harm him. Much less kill him and-"

"James, I cannot forgive what he has done to you. You do not deserve this. Whatever the reason is why you think you do, I don't care. In my eyes, you have harmed yourself enough, and Thomas has absolutely no right to do what he has done to you. I am going to kill him," Aaron seethed with absolute rage, venom dripping from every word he spoke, but it was not directed towards James, he felt that. James shook his head.

"You can't kill him, he's a god! And he's one of the most powerful gods I know, just short of the Judge," James reasoned and Aaron growled because he knew James was right, but his rage demanded for him to avenge him.

"There _has_ to be a way! What if I burn down every temple dedicated to him? What if I kill every single mortal who worships him!" Aaron tried, but James shook his head.

"There are too many, and we wouldn't know who does worship him... you would have to kill thousands of people, Aaron, and I can't let you do that since these people would be entirely innocent in regards to this situation," James reasoned, taking Aaron's arm and gently trying to pull him away from the door. Aaron grumbled, the anger wouldn't die down.

"There has to be a way to do something! Can't we weaken him, at least?" he asked and James looked to the side. Aaron noticed this and knew this meant something. "We can weaken him?"

"Um... well... I mean, technically yes, but... I don't know how we accomplish that!" James admitted with a scowl, looking away.

"How do we weaken that bastard?" Aaron asked gently, putting a hand on James' shoulder. James hummed, he didn't want Aaron to do this, any of this. He didn't want Aaron to be this angry, to want to harm anyone, Thomas or anyone else.

"Thomas... He gains his power by light... Being the god of the sun he technically has an infinite source, as his power is also to make light. I suppose if we were to take the light away from him he'd be weak, but that's impossible! Even in the night, there's light, like my moon or the stars, he'd only be weakened a bit and not to the degree that he's basically harmless," James explained and Aaron grumbled. He felt this intense need to avenge James, to hurt Thomas for what he had done to him, but if it was this impossible, his need would not be able to be satiated. Then James continued, "I don't want you to put yourself in any position where you fight Thomas; that is not a fight you would win... I want you to be safe, Aaron, at least you. It's not worth it, your safety is a higher priority than- than avenging me, Aaron, and avenging me will not do anything to make this," and he pointed to his scarred left eye, "go away."

"You're right..." Aaron grumbled, "But that does not mean I will not attempt anything the moment I get the chance to. He will pay; this I can promise."

And he turned on his heel and left the room, leaving Hercules, who was still angry but concealed it better than Aaron, and James in it alone. Hercules approached James and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I can only imagine how it hurts," he tried and James nodded.

"I've... I've had time to get used to it... but the pain worsens sometimes... you remember the times when I insisted I sleep elsewhere?" he asked and Hercules nodded, vaguely remembering those nights when James' familiar presence near his back (because that was where he had always slept) had been missing because James had insisted on not disturbing the pair that night, which was preposterous seeing as nothing ever happened to warrant such care. "Those were the nights when the pain worsened tenfold... I was afraid that the pain would become so strong that it'd make me scream and... you'd know..."

"You didn't deserve this, James, Aaron is right in that regard. And... if what he had told me about you was even slightly correct, you've hurt yourself enough. I think he's right to trust you, and for whatever it's worth: I trust you too..." Hercules spoke softly to comfort him and James sighed, leaning into Hercules comforting touch.

"Thank you," he mumbled, "You and Aaron... you've been more than too kind to me. And Aaron... goodness, he's the most understanding being to have ever lived..."

"Yeah, he's great at that. I haven't a clue how he does... everything. He's just a mortal, but sometimes it feels like he is the most experienced in life, even though he barely ever got to live his," Hercules sighed dreamily and James smiled at him.

"I can see why you're in love with him, he's unlike anyone, really," James hummed and Hercules nodded. "I'm happy for you two. At least you two get to be with each other." Hercules perked up at this and saw James' sad smile.

"You say this like you're unhappily in love with someone?" Hercules inquired and James let out a defeated chuckle.

"Something like that, I suppose. I do envy you and Aaron. You two are so happy together, I can't help but wish for even a moment of the same for me and... it doesn't matter, really. It'll never happen, not with what I did..." James sighed and sat back down on the bed. His hands itched to hold the letters that were pressed against his chest and read them and his mind begged to be allowed to indulge once more in those fantasies he had created for himself, but, he reasoned, he couldn't with Hercules in the room to witness this. Hercules sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulder in comfort.

"You can't say it'll never happen if you haven't even tried it!" Hercules reasoned but James shook his head.

"It's no use, Hercules. What I did is unforgivable, he will not forgive me, and he hasn't even the chance to know about this... to know that I try to change and..." he sighed, "I love him, I'm so deeply in love with him, and I so desperately want him to know this, know what I feel, but..."

"I think I understand," Hercules said and James looked at him, having to turn his head a lot more to do so because Hercules sat at his left side.

"You do?" he asked, tired and exhausted from his own emotions.

"I think so, at least... You're... very insecure about this, I can tell... Believe it or not but... I was also pretty insecure when it came to progressing my relationship with Aaron," Hercules admitted and James looked at him curiously.

"You were?" he asked and Hercules nodded.

"Perhaps not as insecure as you are, but I was still insecure. I was so sure I didn't deserve him, he is so great. And even after we established our relationship I was so sure I didn't deserve him. He really is the greatest person, the loveliest creature I have ever met, and I'm not talking about his beauty. Yes, he is the most beautiful being to have ever existed, but he is so much more than that. He is educated, clever, smart in so many ways; he's talented, caring, understanding. Even when he doesn't understand, he makes an effort to understand and puts so much effort into actually understanding in the end," he sighed dreamily, "I am so lucky to have him, to be his. I only want to make him happy, that's my only goal... What about yours? Care to give a name?"

"I... I'd rather not confess to who I'm in love with," James stuttered with a blush.

"That's alright," Hercules laughed and grinned, "Tell me something about him. What made you fall in love with him?"

James had to think for a moment whether or not he wanted to tell Hercules any of this. He sighed and nodded, taking another moment to gather his thoughts. A deeper blush crept onto his cheeks.

"He's just... impossible to describe, really, but he is amazing. He is so knowledgeable on the world and everything that surrounds it. He has the softest eyes, I can hardly believe he can glare with them, but at the same time they are lightning storms, so wild and electric and vibrant and beautiful; pulsating with life and an untameable free spirit, sparkling and exciting and brilliant" James spoke with such loving softness that is surprised Hercules, "He's determined and passionate and as fierce as a storm. I just want to be caught in him."

"You sound very enamoured," Hercules smiled softly.

"I'm utterly and completely and hopelessly in love. I hadn't a clue what had hit me the first time I had laid eyes upon him..." he sighed, absolutely love-struck, "And I deserve none of him..."

"Don't say that!" Hercules grinned reassuringly, "I bet that if you approach him and just go for it, you'll be able to accomplish something, perhaps even establish a relationship, like me and Aaron! You can only know once you've tried, believe me. I've been through that. It's difficult, no doubt about that, but I think you can manage it."

"I wish I believed in myself as much as you do. But I don't, and I don't expect anything to come out of it. I don't deserve him, he deserves better than me, and I've accepted it, I suppose. I'm happy enough pining from afar," James looked away. Hercules frowned, he didn't quite believe what James told him, but James seemed perfectly comfortable in his denial, so he wasn't sure whether he should continue this conversation in this way. He decided against it. Suddenly, Aaron entered through a different door that had appeared near the bed and disappeared once he walked through it. He was holding a potion in his hand that was glowing blue and approached James with it. "What's that?" James asked.

"It's a healing potion. I'd like to say Alexander taught me how to make it, but he left behind instructions for it. Since I have nothing familiar to you it won't be as effective, but I hope it will at least soothe some of the pain," Aaron explained and poured some of the liquid (it was more like a less firm pudding) onto his right hand and began working it into James scarred skin. James hissed at first as the pain increased, but he forced his body to stay still and not squirm away from the touch like he wanted to.

Then, suddenly, the pain he had felt became smaller, smaller, and ever smaller, until he could barely feel it anymore. He marvelled at this fact and his mouth fell slightly agape in awe and shock at this. His eyes widened, and he almost prepared for the pain that would usually follow such a contortion of his features, but it never came with the intensity he had anticipated. There was still pain, but it was so tiny, it was merely an inconvenience.

"How did you do that?" he asked, completely in awe at this. Aaron smiled sheepishly at him.

"I take it, it worked?" he asked and James nodded, "Well, it was a simple recipe, some black tooth, a drop of starlight, an ounce of moon tear potion, seven drops of woolmilkpig's milk and eight shots of the extract of aloe vera. Had I had something that was familiar to you, I'm sure it would have helped a lot more, but even your carrier couldn't be found in the stone garden, so it doesn't work as well as it could."

"No matter, you haven't a clue, not the slightest clue how grateful I am for you this very moment. I can't express my gratitude in words, forgive me, but thank you so much!" James jumped up and hugged Aaron tightly, "You haven't a clue for how long this pain has plagued me! It robbed me of sleep and sound mind! Thank you, so much, so so so much, Aaron!"

"I'm glad I could help. I bet if Alexander was here he could help you more, but this should do for now," Aaron smiled and James hugged him tighter as he mentioned Alexander.

"Thank you, so much. You haven't a clue how grateful I am for you," he whispered and Aaron chuckled.

"I think I have a bit of a clue," he snorted and James pulled away and smiled at him with so much gratitude, Hercules was sure James would swear, yet again, to protect Aaron and make sure he is safe for eternity. "You look exhausted, James. Perhaps you should sleep for today?" Aaron suggested and James nodded.

"But we should all rest. I hear you were... in the temple of death? How was it?" he asked and Aaron shuddered as he remembered the book made of human skin.

"It was disgusting and fascinating. I learned a new spell, 'Taking Death's Hand' and the artefact of the temple was a sickle, and its handle was a skeleton hand! That's a bit too literal, don't you think so too?" he laughed and James chuckled a bit.

"Sounds like you had fun... is there another temple?" he asked and Aaron nodded.

"The temple of life is the next one. It's actually pretty close to a major city in Elsyaen, though I doubt that anyone there will know anything about it. I actually know the city!" Aaron explained and James raised a brow.

"How come?" he asked and Aaron smiled sheepishly.

"I kind of liberated the kingdom by taking a flute that hypnotises people from the local king... I wonder how Merdi is?" he wondered out loud and James looked impressed.

"Liberated a kingdom? That is quite a feat!" he smiled and Hercules snorted.

"He liberated three kingdoms, James," Hercules bragged for Aaron who playfully slapped his arm, "Hey, it's true!"

"Don't brag for me, that doesn't look good on you," Aaron grinned and Hercules pretended to pout.

"But I'm so proud of you for it and you won't brag about it yourself," he whined and Aaron rolled his eyes and kissed Hercules' cheek.

"I have my reasons not to brag," he muttered but his smile never left his lips.

"Should we head for it tomorrow?" James asked and Aaron considered it for a moment.

"I think I would like to visit someone first, but we can head for it right after, alright?" he suggested and James nodded, he had nothing against this. "Alright, it's a deal."

"We should still head to bed now. I don't suppose you have anything against joining us tonight, James?" Hercules smiled at James who could, for the first time in five years, actually and freely smile back. Goodness, he's missed this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good thing Aaron is so understanding!


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY THAT I'M BEHIND TWO UPDATES! I HAD SO MANY IDEAS OFR OTHER STUFF AND I HAD TO WRITE THAT DOWN AND I WAS IN DENMARK AND THEN I HAD O DO SCHOOL STUFF BUT NOW I'M BACK AND I'M ALIVE AND I HAVE A NEW CHAPTER!! Also this chapter is a bit longer than usual, so take this as an apology for the lack of updates.

The sun rose in the realm below and Aaron slowly woke with Hercules' chest pressed against his face. He let a smile overcome him and nuzzled deeper into his lover, letting his warmth encompass his being, relishing in this moment of calm. He loved these small moments with Hercules, even though most of the time Hercules wasn't quite awake for them. Aaron loved the quiet, loved how the mere presence of Hercules quieted his ever worrying mind. He sighed happily, he was content here, in Hercules' arms, where his mind was quiet, where he could just live. Perhaps not even that, but merely exist, and it was lovely.

A moment later he felt Hercules stir beside him, waking up, and he made sure he smiled at him and Hercules looked down to find Aaron pressed against his chest. He couldn't help but grin down at him.

"You look comfortable," he commented, his voice deep from sleep and a goofy grin spread on Aaron's face.

"I am very comfortable," Aaron replied, scooting up and kissing Hercules and grinned, "You are, too." Hercules snorted at his and Aaron kissed him again, "Like a big pillow of clouds."

"I don't mean to interrupt this, by all means, adorable display of affection" James interjected, having been awake for longer, putting away the letters, "But didn't we say we'd go somewhere today?"

"Yeah, you're right. I think we should get ready for that," Aaron nodded, then wondered to the side, "I really do wonder how Merdi is fairing. I hope we actually get to visit her. It's been such a long time!"

"Who exactly is Merdi?" James asked, getting up from the bed and reaching for the potion standing on the nightstand next to the bed. He poured some out onto his hand and rubbed it into the scars over his left eye.

"She's a friend, kind of, sort of, I think. She's the princess- no, wait, that was thirty years ago, she should be ruling by now. Her mother was the one who killed the king after I broke the spell by taking away the cursed flute. I stayed a bit after that and she taught me Elsyae, the most commonly spoken language, you know? I think I stayed for a year? I can't properly remember... I hope I get the chance to see her again, though. Would be nice to... catch up, I suppose," Aaron explained and James hummed.

"Does she know who you are?" he asked, worried, and Aaron shook his head.

"Don't worry, I was just as paranoid about being found out back then as you are about my safety because of that now. Goodness, so much time has passed!" Aaron marvelled and Hercules nodded.

"Thirty years is a long time for mortals," Hercules supplied, "Personally, I don't feel like much time has passed at all..."

"Really? I feel... like a lifetime has passed..." Aaron's mind wandered to Alexander. He missed him, he missed him so much. "I miss him..."

Hercules hugged him tight and rubbed his back.

"Me too, love..." Hercules whispered and an arrow of guilt struck James' right in the stomach and he turned around, gripping at the letters at his chest. He reminded himself that this was the reason he had to fix things. He wanted to speak, spill the truth to both of them, whom he now, he thought, counted as his friends. But something prevented him from doing just that, like his throat was tied in a knot. Hercules kissed Aaron's head. "Come now, my love. We wanted to go to the next temple and visit your friend, so let's do that, yeah? No point in... Let's go, yeah?" Hercules smiled sadly down at Aaron and he reluctantly nodded. This was what James had to fix.

"No point dwelling on what can't yet be changed... Let's just go..." Aaron mumbled and pulled away from Hercules' hug. Aaron hugged himself and walked ahead and out of the room. James frowned and kept a tight grip on the letters against his chest.

"He really misses him... I do, too, of course... But I can feel the turmoil inside of him whenever his mind wanders to Alexander..." Hercules spoke, he wasn't sure whether these words were meant for James or for himself. James looked to the side in shame, Hercules' back was facing him.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered but Hercules didn't hear him. Hercules turned to him and regarded him with a sad smile, not recognizing how uncomfortable James was.

"Let's just go, okay?" Hercules said and left the room. James took a quiet look around the room. Did he deserve to be here? Right here in this palace? In Alexander's palace, his room, his bed? No, he answered himself, he didn't deserve any of this. He didn't deserve to be here, he didn't deserve Aaron's trust. His care, his sympathy. A strange side of him wished Aaron hated him. As his gaze wandered around the room it hit the potion on the nightstand, and his gaze dropped to the floor. A symbol of his care and sympathy. He felt the pit in his stomach opening up into an abyss once more. He wished that the hate Aaron had expressed at Thomas' actions would be directed at him. This strange side of him wished to be punished more for his mistakes. He wasn't happy, not like this. But he couldn't change it. And anyway, he didn't deserve it. Nothing he was given... he deserved nothing of it. And he couldn't tell Aaron just what his role was in Alexander's disappearance, no matter how much he wanted to tell him. Every time he tried, it was like his mouth was sewn shut, preventing the truth from spilling forth from his mouth in a waterfall to collect at his feet. With a last gaze around, he left, a pang of pain lingering in his heart.

 

Thomas glared down at the realm below, looking, searching, waiting. His glare was visibly felt down there. His anger was felt within the glares he shot from the sun in an attempt to hit the object of his hatred. He felt something pass through, and soon enough he found Aaron, Hercules and James travel into the realm below. He sneered when he saw James, and he wasn't wearing the hat he had worn for the past five years. While Thomas wasn't aware of what this meant, the sight of James' scars sickened him. He was utterly disgusted but felt a sense of pride at his curse taking full effect. Had he placed his hand over James just a moment longer, he knew, his curse would have spread through his entire body, and not just cover this small space on the left half of his face. He wished he had done that. He should have done that. James deserved nothing better. He growled, not noticing how he set himself on fire in his rage. James deserved nothing better than his hate, his rage, his fury. He didn't deserve to be around Aaron, to be in the palace with him. He could only imagine what went on in that palace and the notion infuriated him even more. He growled and snarled, glaring James down. James felt these glares and turned around, glancing at the sun, the source of his feeling uncomfortable and quickly turned around once he saw the sun and hurried to Aaron and Hercules.

"You vermin, you weed, you absolute fool for thinking I will let you get away with what you've done..." he spat, venom dripping off of every single word.

 

James rushed down to Aaron and Hercules who were just landing outside of the city. Aaron turned around and smiled lightly at James.

"Is- is this the place?" he asked and Aaron nodded.

"This is the city where the king had lived. Now he's dead and I think Merdi should be ruling! Her mother was made the new Queen after all, and that was thirty ago! I wonder how much she's changed?" Aaron grinned, excited, "I can't wait to see her again!"

"Why didn't you visit her sooner?" he asked and Aaron shrugged.

"I suppose I still held this lingering paranoia about being found out back then. And then I heard more rumours about more instruments and then for twenty years we went looking for..." he paused and shook his head, James felt a deep pang of guilt in his heart and he yearned to tell Aaron, but it was like his mouth was sewn shut, "And then the thing with the temples happened and, oh boy, we've been busy! We've been really busy the past thirty years! I still can't believe it's been so long," Aaron explained and mused. James felt the guilt build up in his stomach. He wanted to shake it away, but this guilt was there for a reason, and he knew it perfectly well that he deserved feeling it.

"Well, would you like to visit her now?" Hercules asked softly, kissing Aaron's head.

"I think I will. Would you like to come with? She doesn't know either of you and I could introduce you," Aaron smiled and began walking into the city, Hercules and James close by him.

"I suppose we have much of a choice. I don't like the idea of being caught out here- I DON'T HAVE MY HAT!" James suddenly yelled and covered his face. "WHY DON'T I HAVE MY HAT?!" They hadn't quite entered the city yet and there were only a few people, maybe five, where they were and they looked at the group oddly, though one of them began whispering something. Aaron, in a mild panic caused by James' sudden outburst, grabbed one of the layers of his own robes (they were made complicatedly, but he always liked having on more than one layer) and tore it off, throwing it around James' head and tying it together in a way that it covered the scars around his eye. James stared with wide eyes, and then looked at Aaron, who was calming down from the mild panic and smiled down at James, and James gave Aaron an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry... I must've forgotten to put it on because I scarcely felt the pain... it won't happen again... This fabric is so soft, where did you get it?"

"Woolmilkpig!" was Aaron's answer, "You can... keep it... Maybe I can make you something to cover your eye other than your hat when we get back home? How about that?"

"I... don't want to be a bother..." he replied and Aaron scoffed.

"You're not, I promise. I finally have an excuse to use the crafting room again! Besides, the hat didn't fit properly to cover that up and look good at the same time. I bet I can make something that does both," Aaron smiled and Hercules nodded enthusiastically.

"Could I help, too?" Hercules asked and Aaron nodded.

"Of course!" he smiled and James found that a small smile crept onto his lips as well. The world didn't deserve this man, he thought. "Ah, but we should get going!"

And they did, they wandered down the streets, heading for the palace of the city, though James and Hercules were both unsure of the way, Aaron assured them that he knew exactly where he was going. He had lived there for about a year, after all! And his reasoning calmed Hercules worries, but not so James'. It had been thirty years, he reasoned, many things could have changed. But Aaron calmed his worries somewhat when he could predict where the next alley would lead them, or after which corner lay which shop. He was only wrong about the last shop he predicted, which had burned down recently it appeared.

Finally, however, they reached the gates to the palace, and Aaron couldn't help the smile that was on his lips as they approached the gates. The guards standing in front of the gates regarded them with calculating looks. James grew nervous. This was the first time in years, not counting Aaron, that he would interact with mortals, and he wasn't sure how to feel about this.

"What brings you here?" the left guard asked roughly. James avoided the curious gaze of the right guard, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks because he distinctly felt the right guard's gaze hit the fabric that was covering up his scar.

"I would like to ask, is Merdi the current Queen of this kingdom?" he asked and the guards perked up.

"Indeed she is. What is your purpose here?" the left guard asked.

"Ah, so I thought," Aaron smiled, "You wouldn't know whether she'd like a visit from an old friend, do you?"

"An old friend? Who are you?" the right guard lifted his gaze from James, who had grown most uncomfortable under it, and directed it to Aaron.

"Ah, I don't believe that she would have gone around telling everyone my name, especially since I had asked her not to. Perhaps, if you could inform her, a friend who was of help, about thirty-three years ago, has come to pay a visit. If you just describe to her just exactly what my face looks like, she should know who I am," Aaron explained politely and the right guard frowned at him.

"I... can't make out your face," he stated and Aaron chuckled.

"Precisely," he stated with a smile and the left guard rolled his eyes and told the right guard he'd be back in a minute. The group waited patiently, though James grew uncomfortable yet again as the right guard's gaze lingered on him again. Aaron noticed this and frowned at the guard. "Might I ask you to stop staring at my friend? I do believe you're making him quite uncomfortable," he said and the guard scoffed.

"Why's he wearing that thing?" he asked rudely, pointing at the fabric covering up James' left eye.

"It's quite personal, sir," Aaron answered for James, who looked to the ground in shame. The guard didn't seem happy with the answer and approached James, reaching for the fabric. Aaron's reflexes were quick and he grabbed the guard's arm just before it could reach and grab the fabric. James stepped away and next to Hercules. He couldn't believe how this simple act could instil such fear and shame into him, and by a mortal as well. "What are you doing, sir?" Aaron asked, his voice dropping an octave dangerously. The guard glared at him.

"I want to see what's under there," he spat and glared, but Aaron downright growled at him.

"I don't believe my friend would much appreciate you touching him in any sort of way against his will. Ah, to some degree this reminds me of the king that had ruled here? Do you remember his rule? Ah, I don't suppose you do, you look rather young, perhaps 27? No, he was killed before you were born," Aaron said with an eerie voice that made James shiver. Hercules looked rather proud of his lover. The guard finally backed off, but not without giving James another minute of a curious stare. 

Finally, the other guard returned, with him a woman that Aaron didn't recognize.

"The Queen will receive you now. Please follow me," the woman saidMaybeand Aaron nodded, following behind the woman, making sure that James was right behind him so the right guard couldn't try to grab the fabric covering James' eye again. Hercules was happily walking behind James, also making sure the right guard wouldn't touch James. The absurdity of the situation that he was protecting a god from a basically harmless mortal only seeped into his senses a moment later. The group opposite down some hallways and Aaron grew somewhat excited, the closer they got to the throne room, as he knew the way exactly.

They reached a large pair of doors with two more guards standing in front, who then opened the doors upon the approach of the group. The throne room was just as he remembered it, and he was glad to smell that the foul odour that had plagued this room had finally disappeared. He smiled as he then found the throne sitting there and, on top of it, a woman whose features had changed a lot in the past thirty years, but who he immediately recognized. The woman on the throne perked up as soon as the group entered the throne room. Immediately, she asked every servant and guard to leave the room, which the guards only very reluctantly did. As soon as the guards were also gone and every door to the room closed, she discarded the crown atop her brow onto the throne and ran to Aaron, hugging him tightly.

"Aaron! I thought you said you'd never return! I remember it precisely like that, you telling me you couldn't return, ever. Oh, you don't look like you've aged a day! How was your journey? Who are these men in your group? Friends, I'd assume?" she rambled excitedly and Aaron laughed along with her.

"Ah, something like that, and yes, I did say that, didn't I?" Aaron chuckled, returning the hug.

"What brings you here? Oh, I was entirely unprepared for a visit!" Merdi smiled brightly, pulling away from the hug.

"Well, I have some business to attend to near this city, and I remembered so fondly my time here that I decided to visit you. We won't be for long, a few minutes, perhaps? I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked and Merdi shook her head.

"Not at all! I was so surprised when the guard came in here and told me a man with an unrecognisable face wanted to see me. I knew immediately it was you, but I couldn't believe it, and now you're right in front of me! What have you been doing all this time? How have you been? Goodness, I can hardly believe it's been thirty years!" she asked.

"Oh, I've been in a lot of places. Done and seen some things here or there. And yourself?" he returned and Merdi smiled brightly.

"Well, as you can see, I'm the Queen now! My mother decided to pass the throne to me once her hallucinations became worse," she looked to the side with a small frown, "You remember how she had nightmares about... before the king died?" and Aaron nodded at this, "Well, she never quite got over that, and the nightmares never stopped and two years ago she began hallucinating him in every reflective surface, and she's been avoiding them ever since. She decided she was unfit to rule further and passed the throne onto me."

"That would explain her absence. But how has Alnojo been otherwise?" he asked and Merdi frowned.

"Well, the hallucinations and nightmares are really draining on her... she can barely get up anymore. But, no point in bringing the atmosphere down by this much," she waved her hand, as if waving the topic away, "You must have so many stories to tell! Oh, whatever happened to the... the... um... what was it? I forgot what the rumour had been about? An instrument like the... flute, I'm sure, but I can't quite grasp what it was..."

"It was a drum, and then a koto, and then a bell lyre. I have helped each of these kingdoms to be rid of these cursed instruments and have collected them in a place unreachable by a regular mortal," he explained.

"Goodness, I can only imagine what you have experienced in that time! Ah, how long do you plan to stay?" she then asked and Aaron hummed.

"Not for long, I imagine. Like I said, There is some business we need to tend to, and we can't stay for too long. Perhaps I will visit another time?" he suggested and Merdi nodded.

"Of course! The kingdom does still owe you for what you've done for us," she smiled, "So should you ever need anything, come to us and we will do our best to help."

"Oh, Merdi, I couldn't possibly-"

"Shush and accept my help, it's not every day that someone affiliated with the gods saves your mother and the whole kingdom with her. Accept my gratitude and my help, I will not have you decline it," she insisted and Aaron smiled at her.

"Alright, alright, I'll let you owe me. But we really must keep going. It was so nice to catch up with you, Merdi, and I hope we'll see each other again soon," he replied and she laughed.

"Please do so before I die, yes? I'd like to see you before that again," she asked and he nodded.

"Of course," he said, and with the smallest bow he turned around, Hercules and James close behind him, and they left, Merdi waving after them and calling for Aaron to visit soon again.

They were led through the halls of the palace by the woman who had led them there, and she left them as soon as they were out of the gates. They were barely outside as James turned to Aaron with a somewhat confused look.

"That was a rather short visit. Are we really in such a hurry?" James asked and Aaron smiled sheepishly.

"I panicked a bit, I admit," he confessed, scratching the back of his neck. Hercules smiled and snorted.

"You didn't seem like you panicked at all," James noted and Hercules nodded.

"Yes, I suppose I didn't seem like it, but I did, indeed. It was... Well, I had never thought I would visit here again and I hadn't a clue what to talk about. And I suppose some lingering paranoia I associate with this place has taken a hold of me in there. Goodness, she'll feel like I rushed through the visit like one does through a forest at night! With pure fright at every tree you pass. She'll be so confused," Aaron mused and Hercules put a hand on his shoulder, sensing Aaron's mood threatening to drop by a big number.

"Well, look at the bright side: We'll be able to get to the temple before the day has ended and it'll be too dark to continue," Hercules said and James raised a brow.

"Well, it matters not, really, whether it is night or day, I believe. Shall we go then? I fear that if I remain here for longer I will second guess every word I spoke to her, and that is not a very comfortable state of mind, mind you," Aaron replied and led the group away from the palace gates and down some streets that Hercules and James were unfamiliar with, but Aaron assured them they led out of the city, where they had to go. He informed them that the temple of life lay hidden behind a forest.

They soon came to the edges of the city, leaving it behind soon thereafter and entering into the vast and dark forest. Aaron gulped in slight fear, not of the forest itself or what may live within it, rather the memories of pain he had in association with dark forests. He heard the whispers of the spirits still in his head, but thankfully it was only on bad days and he had Hercules to calm him down. He breathed out, grounding himself, and took Hercules hand, who looked at him knowingly and nodded and they ventured into the forest. Aaron grew somewhat uncomfortable but Hercules presence beside him helped ground him and calm him down, preventing any attack from befalling him. Aaron was ever so grateful he had Hercules by his side and he couldn't imagine his world without him. Goodness, he was so in love.

They wandered for a bit, along the paths that gradually become more and more nonexistent, but Aaron kept leading them in one direction, so Hercules and James assumed he knew where he needed to go. And he did, sort of. He knew the directions said to walk and keep walking in one direction, never to stray from the path they had chosen to walk, and when it became unclear, to remain upon it as well. He forgot to tell Hercules and James about this, and it lead to some confusion when Hercules wanted to pull Aaron aside because, to him, it looked like Aaron was about to walk into a tree.

"You almost ran into a tree there!" Hercules chuckled lightly, "Are you that uncomfortable here that you didn't notice that tree?"

Aaron looked at him surprised.

"We're not supposed to stray from the path," he murmured, a little dazed.

"What? We can just go around it, or you fly over it, but we can't walk through a tree," Hercules said, his brow raised in slight confusion. Aaron turned to look at the tree in their path, suspiciously narrowing his eyes and walking towards it, letting go of Hercules' hands. He stood directly in front of it, pondering, wondering, muttering small thoughts, cut off and quiet. James raised a brow at this. His eyes widened as Aaron lifted a hand and put it on the tree, but it went right through, and Aaron stepped through the tree without a second thought, but a grin on his face and a laughter in triumph erupting from his throat before he disappeared into the tree.

Hercules yelped and took a step back, James ran around the tree, but Aaron wasn't there.

"He's not here?" he gasped and Hercules yelped anew.

"What? Where did he go?!" he asked, eyes blown wide in a panic.

"Um... Inside the tree? D-do you think we can follow him?" James asked in return, more freaked out than in panic.

"Uh, well, only one way to find out!" Hercules gulped and approached the tree as Aaron had before. He put a hand on the bark of the tree, but his hand went right through it and with a gasp and eyes wide in surprise, he decided to follow Aaron's example and dove right into the tree, a bright flash blinding him for a moment, before he exited the very same tree on the other side, but not where they had been before. The scenery was so much brighter, plants and trees thriving, flowers blooming. Hercules was in awe for a moment. A flash came from behind him, from the tree, and James bumped into him from it, giving a small yelp of surprise.

"Sorry," he mumbled and Hercules waved it off with a smile. Then James gasped, his eye staring ahead at an imposing structure looming overhead. Hercules' eyes widened at the sight of a huge temple, overgrown with all sorts of giant plants and flowers ranking and twirling and groping around the towers reaching upwards as if reaching for the skies above, as if restricting and restraining them from reaching out just far enough, keeping the skies just out of the towers' reach.

Aaron walked in front of this imposing building, grumbling to himself as he had rounded the temple once, twice, thrice, in the time that Hercules and James had slipped through the tree. He didn't look too happy.

"Love, what's wrong?" Hercules asked as he approached Aaron.

"Watch," Aaron said and took a step closer to the temple. The plants around the temple unwound from around it and snapped at Aaron, prompting him to flinch back as to not get his head bitten off by the snarling and dripping teeth (poison, he suspected, or acid). The moment he stepped back, the plants wound themselves over and around and about the temple again. No one would suspect them to be one's doom with a step too close. "It's not a problem, it's just... kinda fun," he suddenly giggled. "I was just waiting for you two to come follow before I go inside all on my own again."

Aaron stretched his hands forward, just short of where the plants would attempt to attack him anew. He balled his hands into fists then stretched his thumbs and index fingers out, pressing the nails of his thumbs together. He then moved his fingers down, drawing the two halves of a circle with them. He then dragged his thumbs down and apart in opposing directions from each other, drawing the upside-down T, performing the spell of 'taking Death's hand'. Hercules gasped and James yelped as Aaron's hand rotted away, flesh melting and falling to the ground, leaving only bone behind. Aaron grinned at his hand and moved his fingers in a quiet dance as he watched. Then, he moved a step forward and, as the plants came rushing to him, to attack and perhaps even kill him, he merely held out his hand. The plants barely came close to him, barely touched the hand he held out to them, barely got their wretched mouths to snap open to reveal the rows and rows of pulsating teeth within, gleaming with poison or acid, before they all withered away pathetically with merely a tender wave of his hand over their petals. As each flowery beast, each a distinct concoction of flora and nightmare, Aaron thought, withered and was defeated with such ease, he smiled proudly to himself, though he did not ignore the balls of light (or perhaps they were something else?) come floating from the defeated nightmares and followed to his hand, restoring here the flesh until his hand was once more whole, not a piece of skin or flesh missing from where it should be. Seeing Aaron's hand whole again relieved his companions to no end, both breathing out a sigh, James particularly perplexed at the giggle Aaron let out upon turning around to watch their reactions to his spell.

Though the giggle was less in amusement at their very reasonable reactions towards the spell. Rather, he felt, much more than the first time he had tried this, a thrill come through his body. A thrill of power, not great, but he felt it distinctly, a thrill of power that made him soar for a moment and giddy. He wasn't sure what this power was, what those balls of light were in reality, perhaps he didn't want to know. Regardless, the nightmarish flora had died and withered away before him, enabling him to access the temple. He turned to the temple once again and stepped off the ground, flying to the entrance without fear of further attacks, Hercules and James, although still in baffled shock, followed quickly behind him through the opened entrance into the temple.

The inside of the temple was filled to the brim with plants and flowers, although these were much less deadly or sentient than the flora outside. The whole temple was covered on the inside with these plants, their roots breaking through the stone walls, through the ground, and they had to be careful where they walked, except Aaron who kept flying above the ground, as the roots were incredibly thick. And they were pulsating. The thickest roots were quite visibly pulsating in a steady beat, the beat of it echoing through the temple into their ears. Hercules was incredibly put off by this, it reminded him of heartbeat and the implication of this didn't sit well with him, James was as well, and Aaron was simply humming as if the beat he heard reminded him of a song.

They kept walking on. The walls of this temple were quite empty, save for the roots running along them, and thus Aaron didn't need to stop to read and translate anything. He gave a quick look around the hallway, looking at the roots, upon which some mushrooms sat. A particularly thick root crawled from the ceiling onto the floor, pulsating particularly heavy and loudly, the beat resonating through the entire hallway. The hallway suddenly split up into eight different paths. Hercules looked into one of the hallways but didn't go inside.

"Which one do we take?" James asked and Aaron hummed, his eyes drawn to the thickest root on the ground, it was about as thick as Hercules' torso, as it followed into one of the hallways, the third from the right, which was more overgrown with flora than the other seven hallways. He pointed to it to answer James' question.

"There, we take that one," he said and Hercules nodded, not questioning his love's reasoning, while James wondered how Aaron had come to this conclusion. Aaron flew ahead into the hallway, with Hercules and James, although James was a bit hesitant, following close behind him as to not lose him. The walls were still lacking the inscriptions the other temples held written upon their walls, but he thought little of it, were he honest with himself. He kept moving forward, his eyes focused on the root as he followed it in particular through the hallway s it parted again into more, he still followed the root. All other roots had led to their source, but this one kept going and going, becoming thicker and thicker. Hercules and James finally noticed that Aaron was following this root.

It went on and on, the path split three more times into eight hallways and Aaron always chose the one the root wandered through. The pulsating beat of the root became louder and louder, deafeningly loud at some point, and if one of them had said anything it would have been drowned out by the pulsating beat. Aaron kept humming, the beat reminded him of a song and he bobbed his head along with the rhythm.

Sooner than they anticipated, they reached a big room, a big chamber, round in shape, though the plants rooting in the walls made it night impossible to guess its shape. The thickest root led to the middle of the room, up a pair of stairs, and created the pedestal upon which lay a book, made entirely of wood (Aaron let out a sigh of relief, remembering the disgusting book made of human skin, with a shudder). He flitted up to the wooden book. James' gaze wandered through the unfamiliar room. He never knew temples like these existed, and the realisation of this came to him this very moment. Temples like these, proof of gods that existed once but were forgotten. The thought terrified him to some degree. He could die and disappear at any given point, just like these gods had, and no one would ever remember him. It would be as if he never existed.

He shook his head. It wasn't a thought he enjoyed and he disregarded it in favour of anything else. His hand reached for the letters in a pocket near his chest. Even simply holding them made him feel so much better, so much calmer and he could focus on the things ahead.

Aaron hovered close to the wooden book and looked through it, murmuring to himself as he read and tried to skip over the parts he didn't need, to the spell he wanted to learn and was sure he would find here. But the pages were made of wood as well and a bit heavy, not to mention some stuck to each other for some reason (sap) and he had trouble pulling them away from each other. Eventually, though, he found the page he was looking for. With a surprised hum he found it was simply the spell of 'taking death's hand' but in reverse, the T right-side up. He followed the movements with his hands in reverse to the spell he already knew and nodded. He looked for the name of the spell.

He chuckled when he read it. He then looked around the room, trying to find something, anything that he could or should use the spell on. But the whole temple was just brimming with life and, if his assumptions were correct, he needed something dead to practise the spell on. A last glance around the room confirmed everything in it to be very alive. An idea flitted into his head and his head shot up at it. He turned around and sped through the room, through the hallways, through the rooms before and out the entrance. Hercules and James yelped, startled as Aaron had sped by them and out of the temple, and they made quick to follow him outside, though they took much longer (while Hercules could have teleported, he felt it wrong to leave James behind and to himself. He had the feeling James would react badly to it as well). The moment they arrived outside the temple, both trying to catch their breath from the running, they found Aaron with stretched out hands, hands directed towards the withered away flora that had tried to attack him before, a smirk playing on his lips (though they couldn't see this, of course) as he performed the spell. Small balls of light came from the ground, flitting around, as if confused, then collected in Aaron right palm which he had outstretched. He moved his fingers, intrigued, playing with the ball in his hand. It wasn't touching his hand, but hovering just above it, though keeping close to it. Aaron reached around, holding the small glowing ball towards some of the dead plants, but it always moved back, as if in repulsion. Finally, with the very biggest of the dead plants, the small glowing ball seemed drawn to it, flitting from Aaron's palm to it. The plant regained its vibrant green, yellow and purple colours which it had lost upon dying, and regained its strength, regained its life as Aaron had guided it to the plant.

Aaron grinned at this. Slowly, the nightmarish plant regained all its energy and stood, once again, tall and proud and threatening. Aaron just wanted to move onto the next plant, when suddenly, this one snapped and lashed out at him, its teeth retracted, but its mouth grabbing him just before he could flinch and fly away to escape. Hercules yelped and James was about to jump at the nightmarish plant, but it seemed to shoot out of the ground, higher and higher, and finally, it threw the writhing Aaron against the temple.

Aaron crashed through a wooden door, wood worn and old, making it not as hard on him as it could have. Nae further buffered his crash and subsequent fall as he hit the wall and then the ground. He groaned at the dull pain on his back. Nae couldn't protect him from all damage, just the most harmful. Aaron massaged his temples, a headache was slowly forming, likely from the being thrown against a wooden door and then a stone wall.

He looked up and then gave a quick look around, scanning the room. He perked up. The entire room was void of life, of plants, of anything except- he grinned in relief- inscriptions on the walls. He got up immediately and flitted to the walls, looking for the beginning of the inscriptions and finding it quickly. They were more directions. The next temple would be located in the one place on this earth that had never had a second of light, a place shrouded in darkness, which was what the temple was of. The temple of darkness.

He finished reading the inscriptions (they further told him about the goddess of life who had actually decided to make the temple her home. He decided to write some of the stories down as he found them amusing and would later tell Hercules and James some of them) and he looked around the room, finding a door he had overlooked. Flying through it, he found another room. It looked like a bedroom and he nodded to himself. She had lived here, he told himself, it would make sense if there were a bedroom here. The bedroom looked like it had not been used in ages, centuries, perhaps. The bed was messy, things were thrown around and about on the ground. Several vases shattered on the floor, a complete mess. It looked almost like a fight had happened here. He gave a worried look to the shattered shards on the floor. They were dusty, just like everything else in this room. He gulped. what must have happened here? He noticed a small book on a desk near the edge of the room. He approached it and picked it up. He flipped through the first pages. He realised this was a diary. Not anyone's diary.

It was the diary of the goddess of life herself. His eyes widened as he realised just what he was holding. He read the first pages.

_Entry #1_

_I'm a bit confused about what's going on, but I think that I'll be okay. The other gods are so nice to me, Alexander gave me this book to write things down in! He said it's best to write down whatever I feel. He said it'll help me reflect on things? I don't quite see what he means by that, but I appreciate the gift and thought nonetheless. They told me that I am the goddess of Life and, well, I kinda needed to be told that. I mean, I knew it myself, somehow, I think... but I didn't have the words to express it? That sounds right. Anyway, with the help of my friends, I already have made some creatures! But they don't last too long before Lafayette takes them away from me. He's not much fun like that._

_Entry #2_

_I finally made some creatures that lasted longer before Lafayette could take them from me! I like them a lot, but Lafayette always ends up taking them from me and I don't like that. Lafayette said that he can't help it. That there is something that makes him do it. And--- well--- Okay, I'm inclined to believe him, a lot actually. Because I feel the same about making these creatures. Maybe... he's my opposite? We were... We began existing at the same time, so... Really, I'm not sure about anything. Alexander seems to know a lot about this. Maybe I'll ask him... The others, while they like me, don't seem like they know as much as him._

_Entry #3_

_Goodness, what an exciting day! A new god and goddess came into existence! I was at my very best and most welcoming behaviour for it! The god, it turns out after Alexander (he seems to know so so much) told them, he realised he was the god of light! He says his name is George. The goddess turned out to be the goddess of darkness! Her name is Adrienne. I think she likes Lafayette a lot. Anyway, I helped them as good as I could, though I couldn't help as much as Alexander. George actually helps me a lot bringing things to life with_

Despite himself, he skipped a few entries.

_Entry #3526_

_Phillip and George made something! They call it the 'sun'. They made it very very big! Phillip added the fire while George added the light. It will make George's job so much easier, and he'll have more time to spend with Phillip (I highly suspect they like each other!). It still surprises me a lot to see them so friendly with each other when just a few centuries ago they seemed to despise the other! We do grow as gods, it appears._

He skipped more entries, going farther to the back. He realised this little book was actually infinite and he sighed. He closed the book and opened it at the end, reading the last few entries.

_Entry#37466577_

_I haven't made an entry in so long. But this is urgent. Quite urgent. Something terrible has happened. Something truly terrible. The names I have written in here, the gods- the friends they belong to- they no longer exist. I can't remember them. I can't remember Phillip or George and I can't remember Adrienne and- Goodness. Alexander and Lafayette and I are the last one's. I never knew a god could die until- well, until it happened! I fled right here, it happened before my very eyes and I forgot him immediately. But I knew something was up so I fled here and found my diary and found the parts where I called him by his name. I don't know how they do it. Lafayette must know! I bet he does! I was told that everyone else was able to hide their artefact before they died. I know Alexander has already taken his artefact to his home in our realm. Lafayette's carrier brought me the message to hide mine. I'll hide it in a moment. I finally get to use the secret compartment under my bed! Good thing I made the goddess of Fate teach me a language that would only come to be in a few centuries. I cannot risk these mortals to find the artefact by my writing._

Aaron grinned at this. He pocketed the diary and looked under the bed, finding a well-hidden compartment underneath. He pushed the bed to the side and opened it. He struggled to open it as it was shut extremely tightly. Faintly, he heard Hercules' and James' worried yelps for him, but the nightmarish plant would keep them from going in after him, it was quicker than both of them and Hercules couldn't teleport to where Aaron was without having seen it first. Finally, he got the compartment open.

Inside the small space was a watering can. It looked old, dusty, some rust on it, but otherwise, it had intricate and neat patterns all over it, ending with the pattern of the spell at the top where the water would come out. There was still water inside, but the water had an odd feeling about it. He picked the watering can up and reached for the water inside. It suddenly began to glow as he submerged his finger into it. He flinched and pulled it out in surprise.

He gave a small chuckle.

"How odd. What is the artefact, the water or the watering can? Well, perhaps it is both, you never know," he finally shrugged and picked the watering can up. With one final glance around, not finding anything else of note, he finally left the room and exited through the broken door of the other room. Hercules and James were both so very relieved to see him in good health.

The nightmarish plant did not attack him this time, but he still decided to use the spell of 'Taking Death's Hand' to kill it. He wanted to keep this particular plant for the palace. Perhaps he could make it more friendly to him and add it as another security measure. He handed the watering can to Hercules with a grin and then turned to James.

"Will you help me dig it up?" he asked and James, too taken aback to say no, agreed. Together they dug up the plant and carried it through the forest (through the tree) and up into the realm of the gods and Alexander's palace. He would read more of the diary at a later point, and tell Hercules and James, who were both very curious (though James displayed this less than Hercules), about the stories he read and the diary itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'The watering can of life'  
> I'm sorry, this is just the funniest thing to me, excuse me while I laugh my ass off! HAHAAHAA!
> 
> I'd like to thank and dedicate this to two people:  
> cybersuzy for the amazing fanart (honestly it kills me with an overdose of happiness each time I look at the pictures and it fucks me up that I can't figure out how to put them in the chapters. I'm just stupid, okay)  
> And my bestest best friend Jay, who not only is the bestest best friend and read my fanfic, but who has also became the person to give me some incredible ideas for this and whom I can bounce ideas off of. They're the muse of fafic now. Boom. Canon. (the inlfuence on me and thus power they have over the fanfic should not be underestimated, but they take responsibility, so it's good!)


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you're thinking: "IT'S ALIVE!!" and yes, I am, and yes, the fic is! Stuff happens! As always. Wow, this it chapter 40... I never anticipated to reach this number, but I can't rest now! Two more temples and then the fun can really begin! Oh, this is gonna be so much fun! I wonder what will happen in the next ten chapters, because I kinda want chapter 50 (for which I will congratulate you once we're there) to be a bit special, because 50 is a special number. But let's first celebrate FORTY FUCKING CHAPTERS!!

Aaron sat in the crafting room, the peaceful quiet and solitude embracing him with gentle caresses which he, in turn, embraced as well as he worked and spun the wool he needed to weave some fabric to then make it into a sort of patch for James' left half of his face. With diligent fingers he spun the wool by hand, making it look like a simple artform with the way he moved his fingers so expertly to spin the wool. He eyed the loom sitting next to him for a moment. He had never had to use it, really, had only used it once and he could not properly remember what for. But as he regarded the loom he noticed that it had worn with age, something that, or so he had thought, should not happen in Alexander's palace. Time simply didn't really pass. Then again, it also sort of did, just not in a way that was noticeable. He would need to make a new loom if he decided to make this a new hobby of his, it did prove to calm his nerves considerably, having something small to focus on that didn't require too much thinking, just memorised muscle movements and he could get lost in the task for hours, especially considering his nigh endless supply of wool. He kept on spinning the wool as the door to the crafting room opened quietly behind him, though the creak it gave echoed through the room as well as through the palace. Aaron stopped spinning the wool and turned his head, seeing whoever entered the room. He smiled as he found it was Hercules bringing him more wool to spin into yarn. Hercules carried the wool over to him and placed it beside him, adding onto the pile.

"How much more will you need?" he asked as Aaron resumed spinning the wool. Hercules took a moment to admire how Aaron looked and appeared so content doing this.

"That should be enough for now. Could you prepare the dyes for me? I should be done in a bit and I would need to repair and properly set up the loom before I may begin weaving. I do wonder how old the loom must be to be in such a state. It makes me wonder if Alexander has used it often..." he paused as his gaze hit the loom beside him with a sudden sadness overcoming him, the change in mood startling Hercules who looked at Aaron with sympathy.

"I don't know. I've never seen him at a loom or do anything like that. Who knows, maybe it was a secret hobby of his. Would it not be funny if the goddess of Fate had taught him how to?" he tried to lift the mood, however, it helped not as Aaron simply shrugged his shoulders and resumed the spinning of the wool.

"I don't quite suppose so. He told me she doesn't particularly like him, didn't when he was alive either. I don't suppose she would have taught him," Aaron replied drily and Hercules frowned, looking around for the dyes Aaron wanted, finding something that might look like what he was looking for in the far corner of the room placed on a high shelf. He took a chair and went over to the high shelf, placing the chair underneath and getting on it to grab the containers. As he grabbed them, he turned around and looked at Aaron with a thoughtful expression.

"Don't you have a spinning wheel? Wouldn't that be much faster?" he asked and Aaron nodded.

"There is a spinning wheel here, but I prefer it like this. I grew up without a spinning wheel in our household, we had to buy wool or yarn from the market, without sheep of our own, but one of the men who had sheep taught me how to spin wool by hand one day. My grandmother was much too impatient with me to teach me, you see. But after that man taught me, I could help her spin wool to yarn, making things much faster. We were able to build a spinning wheel at some point, but I was not allowed to use it, so I remained with spinning by hand and it had always been a very calming task. Perhaps a bit of a mindless task, no real thought given to it, but I prefer it like this," he explained, a smile on his lips at the memories. Hercules frowned in thought.

"What happened to your grandmother then? You told me about your parents, but did the same fate befall her as well?" he asked and Aaron shook his head and he kept on spinning the wool.

"No, she had fallen ill shortly after the king had discovered me, a day or two before my parents were executed. She was arrested, but she died in the cells. Or she might have survived. I was told that she died, but I never got to see her dead body, unlike with my parents," he chuckled bitterly and Hercules' brows furrowed as he carried the containers with the dyes to Aaron, then sitting down next to him, watching him work.

"I never heard this part before," he quietly said and Aaron hummed.

"I haven't told much of my family," he nodded, "I never found the subject painful, mind you, just... yes, perhaps a bit uncomfortable. Though I would like to share with you some more, if you'll hear it."

"My ears are eager for your words," Hercules said which made Aaron chuckle fondly.

"Let's see... I told about my parents and of my grandmother. I had an older sister, I remember. Well, no, I don't remember her that well. She died when I was about five, perhaps four years old, so I have little memory of her, I must admit. But I do remember her vowing to protect me. I vaguely remember her using the words 'deathly grasp shan't stop my heart and hand to lay protection on you'. I do wonder if she really is protecting me, to some degree..." he smiled and spun the wool. Hercules looked thoughtful, but decided to cast away any negative thought and he smiled along with Aaron.

"I'm sure she is-"

"Excuse me, but I'm quite sure that _I_ am the one who has been protecting you, and not some family ghost or blessing," Nae suddenly appeared beside Aaron and huffed, causing Aaron to giggle.

"Perhaps my sister had a hand in me gaining you for my protector," he supplied with a grin and Nae scoffed, "And perhaps she had a hand in guiding Alexander to my window and into my chamber those many years ago, which led to my freedom. Perhaps it was her meddling that brought me to find your body."

"If that had been the case, your sister somehow meddling with fate to protect you, she is doing a lousy job. Look at all that has happened to you and tell me again that you think you have her as a protector," Nae hissed and Aaron shrugged his shoulders.

"It was a mere amusing thought. Where were we?" he shook his head and turned to Hercules.

"Your family," Hercules supplied.

"Ah, yes. I also vaguely remember an uncle, though I'm sure I must have only met him once or twice. Though, I do not recall liking him," he halted and shuddered, "As I look back on it now, I recall a third and very unpleasant encounter..." a shudder shot down his spine at the memory, "I think I'd rather forget that day, if you don't mind..." before Hercules could protest, Aaron continued, "That is all the family I can recall, though I do remember a childhood friend."

"What were they like?" Hercules asked and Aaron sighed.

"He was a good friend of mine whom I'd met one day in the city. I must have been six or seven, and my grandmother saw me old enough to be sent to the city not too far from us to the marketplace. There I met him, went to the same stall as I and let me have the last apple that was for sale. In the end, we shared it because he didn't have anything to eat the past day, just like me. He was about eleven, I remember. Five years older than me. But we became good friends despite that and we met up regularly and shared our food. Eventually, when he was fourteen, his parents died, leaving him without food or money or a roof over his head. I wish I could have helped, but my family forbid me from helping him and by fifteen... he was forced, by desperation, to become a prostitute... He needed money to buy food and maybe a roof over his head, I never held it against him, and we stayed friends until... until I was taken away and brought to the palace..." he explained.

"What happened to him?" Hercules asked and Aaron hummed.

"Well, he starved, I heard. After I was brought to the palace, he kept trying to visit me, and it only worked once. He was caught the third time he tried, had been chased off the second. I'm not quite sure what else might have happened to him, but I heard he was thrown in a prison cell and just... left there, without anything. No food, no water. He was intentionally forgotten about for seven weeks, I heard and... he died..."Aaron stopped spinning the wool, quietly staring at the ground, tears forming in his eyes which he quickly rubbed away and he shook his head, focusing, yet again on his spinning.

"That's horrible," Hercules breathed in shock and disgust.

"Don't I know it..." he chuckled bitterly. Nae, who still floated next to him looked down at him with a thoughtful expression.

"Is there anyone you're close with who hasn't died yet?" it asked, brow raised and Hercules gasped in outrage as Aaron merely flinched at the harsh words.

"How dare you!" Hercules spat, scooting closer to Aaron, who had dropped the wool to the ground, and held him in a close embrace.

"It's fine, my heart, don't worry yourself none. Besides, I still have you, and Alexander is still alive, as far as I can tell. And James doesn't appear to be due for death anytime soon, neither do you. My mortal friends will die eventually, but... so is life for them," Aaron hummed and shrugged his shoulders. "I know it's not just around me. People die all the time, be it around me or not, it's natural. Everyone dies eventually... every mortal, at least..."

"I did not mean insult. I just noticed that many people seemed to have died around you, surrounding you, with a close or otherwise connection to you... It was an observation. I apologize if it has not come across as merely such," Nae mumbled and Aaron nodded.

 

Queen Yala looked at the letters she had received as reply to her own. She had sent out three letters in the past month, one to the Queen of Elsyae, one to the King of Serpae and one to the heads of state of Ulanei. Isma placed a hand on her shoulder and Yala turned around to look at her.

"What do they say?" Isma asked and Yala turned back to the letters.

"They have agreed to meet. Though only two of the fifteen heads of state of Ulanei have agreed. They say that the others did not know him as well as they and would not be able to bring much on him to the table. We shall meet in the kingdom of Serpae, on the borders to Ulanei. We should pack our things and prepare a carriage. I'd like to be there in a week or two to meet them swiftly," Yala replied as she put away the letters and got up from her chair, Isma close by her side. Together, they packed their things and sent some servant to go and prepare a carriage for them.

Everything after this went over and by quickly and smoothly, and very soon, a week and two days after their departure, they arrived at the building where they were supposed to meet. They were not the first one's there, as the king of Serpae had already arrived two days before they did. The other arrived three days after Queen Yala and Isma had arrived, and soon they all found themselves in a big meeting room, the big table they sat at full of papers and books and scrolls.

"I assume you are all aware why I asked you to come here?" Queen Yala asked and the others nodded, except those from Ulanei.

"Your letter was rather vague... What did you mean when you said 'servant of the gods'?" the older looking woman asked, the younger one nodding along.

"The one that saved your kingdom from the king with the cursed koto, I recall-"

"Aaron? Are you talking about Aaron?" the younger one asked, though she wasn't that much younger than the other woman.

"I... did not learn his name. All I know, is that he must at least be associated with the gods. His cloak, the brooch that holds it, his face that is unrecognisable-"

"You are talking about Aaron! Ansue, she is talking about Aaron!" the woman exclaimed and Ansue, the older one, nodded.

"Yeah, I heard that. Question is, though, what did you call us here for?" Ansue asked and Queen Yala nodded.

"For the twenty-five years after I encountered him I have done research on him, rather on the symbol of the brooch. I have found out just what his connection to the gods has to be. He has to be the servant of them, or of one of them. Specifically, the god of Wind," Queen Yala said and the King of Serpae nodded, expression deep in thought.

"He did use winds to defend himself..." he muttered.

"And I know that each of you has encountered him before he saved the kingdoms. I want us to share our experiences and perhaps find a way to reach him," Yala told them and the Queen of Elsyae frowned.

"Why do you want to reach him?" she asked.

"I admit, I am a curious creature, but I am also grateful that he took away the cursed bell lyre that was in my possession. I'd like to properly thank him, but also find out more about him and the god he belongs to," she stated, "And that's why I'd like to reach out to him. Each of you, so I heard, have met him before he rid your kingdoms of the cursed instruments."

"Yeah, I remember like it was yesterday," the Queen of Elsyae, Merdi, grinned, "I met him on the marketplace. He didn't speak a word of our tongue. He spoke a commoners language, I think. It sounded common. I believe the peasantry of Markon spoke this language."

"Markon? I have not heard of that kingdom," Yala blinked in surprise.

"Neither have I," the King of Serpae, Sequu, admitted.

"It's called Merkosta today. Thirty-three years ago... well, the king took his own life. I don't have all the details, but apparently, the person he was in love with got carried away by gods. His prayers were left unanswered, his love unreturned. And he resorted to killing himself. He didn't leave an heir, and so the kingdom fell into political chaos, revolutions rose, leaders arose and fell, all of them meeting a bloody end, until about five years ago. Some bloke asserted himself and remained ruler until today. Really, no one knows how he did it, he just did," Merdi explained.

"So, you think Aaron is from Markon?" Bennie asked.

"Well, I'm not sure. He spoke the language, but if he was- is a servant of the gods, it might well be that he was only given that language to learn?" Merdi theorised, "He did know a few phrases and words in Elsyaen but that was about it."

"Wait, you mentioned how the love of the Markon King was... taken by gods?" Yala asked.

"That's what I heard," she said and paused, "Actually, I heard some legends about this person, too..."

"Legends?" Sequu asked, "What sort of legends?"

"Well... I heard that this person, who the king was so in love with... is the most beautiful creature of any realm, even more beautiful than the goddess of beauty. He was worshipped for his beauty, and the king kept him in a palace. But the king had to go and fight a war, other people had heard of his love, of this most beautiful being, and everyone wanted him. But on the very day he returned, so the story goes, the gods came to get this man. The king was so heartbroken, he committed suicide," she told and everyone nodded along with the story.

"What a tragedy," Bennie mumbled, then, with a sudden start, a thought came to mind, "Wait, could Aaron have been that person?"

The entire room went dead-silent in a beat. Everyone didn't dare say a word for a moment, carefully considering Bennie's suggestion. Isma piped up.

"If he is that 'most beautiful being' then, well, it would make sense that we associate him with the gods, having been taken by them. But would the gods let him come back here?" Isma supplied and Yala nodded.

"Good point, love, I don't think the gods would just let him come back here, where he could age and possibly lose his beauty. Heck, he can die here," she nodded and Ansue frowned in thought.

"Maybe he didn't ask," Ansue supplied, "I mean, I knew him well enough, that year he stayed with us. He didn't seem like the type to listen to anyone claiming they know what's best for him. Who knows, maybe he asked the gods to take him away in the first place."

"But why would he do that?" Sequu asked.

"Wait, just to clarify, how long did we all know him for?" Bennie piped up, "Ansue and I have known him for one year, what about y'all?"

"I've also known him for about a year," Merdi supplied.

"About two days. Very, very eventful two days..." Sequu mumbled, the memory still haunting him to some degree.

"One encounter, not even ten minutes. Though, this reminds me, I wanted to hear your stories. Merdi, why don't you begin again?"

"Of course. I met him in the marketplace and he did not speak our tongue. But he could communicate to me that he wanted to the king. I immediately realised he wasn't under the spell. I assumed, because I couldn't make out his face at all, that he must be a god, or at least the servant of one, like you concluded, Queen Yala. I led him to the palace, and... well, I wasn't in the room, but later that night, when the king wanted to head to bed with..." she hissed, "With my mother... he was there, and he ripped the skin off the king's hand clean of while grabbing the flute... It must have been such a bloody scene..." Merdi gulped at the image in her head. She knew Aaron, she had just recently met him again, and no one would ever suspect him of being capable of hurting someone like that, no matter who.

"You'd never think he could do something like that, huh?" Sequu chuckled bitterly.

"What's your story?" Ansue asked him and Sequu hugged himself tightly.

"The drums of war... I saw horrifying things when the Queen was still..." he gulped, "Alive... Men, women, children, dying, being tortured... And then came he... I had just... escaped the capital and I met him... he asked me about why no man who wasn't old or not yet a man on the streets... the walls have ears, I knew, so I brought him... to my abandoned home... and he asked me to..." he gulped again, "To take him to the capital... I brought him there, I wanted to buy a carriage and bring him there, but he later insisted he pay for it..."

"He does appear to have a lot of money," Ansue nodded.

"We spent two days in the carriage together, and I don't recall seeing him asleep once there. He stayed awake, I think he didn't trust the horseman and... when we arrived at the palace... there was an execution... I remember the man's name, I don't know why, but it haunts my memory, Theres Olliva. He- he had clearly been tortured before, he was accused of treason and- he was executed... I witnessed it and so did Aaron... I told him- he was worried that I saw it, but I told him I had seen that before and he... he just seemed so angry all of a sudden. I couldn't make out his face, but I felt the anger he was suddenly carrying. He told me to wait for him and he left for the throne room, and I waited, but then servants came around and I hid, but I was found. Then I was brought to the throne room to be brought before the Queen to be judged. Aaron had deflected an attack... by the soldiers with such a strong wind. But when I was brought in, he stopped. He felt responsible for me, I don't know why he felt like that, but then the Queen- she saw this too and she threatened to kill me if Aaron didn't leave her kingdom and her alone. He didn't say anything, but he- he agreed and the guards let me go and I felt horrible for this, but he just smiled at me, and I could see the smile, but nothing else- and then he approached the Queen and- he held out his hand as if to shake hers, and she took it, but then he-" his voice became quiet and he began trembling, "He killed her. He stabbed her with his staff so many times and... he retrieved the drums and put the crown the Queen wore... on my head... then he left..."

Everyone stared at him silently in shock at this.

"H-how old were you?" Yala asked.

"I was 17... I am so grateful that he killed her, so grateful that she's gone, but... fuck, it haunts me to this day. He was dead-quiet as he killed her, and I knew he felt nothing, I didn't feel any emotion from him... I was so terrified..." he trembled, putting his head into his hands, "Fuck, I should be over that but... I just can't seem to forget it... Please, let's move past this, I can't bear to spend another moment thinking about it..."

"Okay, well... Um... I met Aaron when I was still a prostitute in Ulanei," Bennie begun and Isma blinked in surprise at how openly she admitted to that, how fearlessly. "He was not interested in me, so I thought I'd bring him back to the brothel and see if he'd like any of the men instead."

"Which was where I met him," Ansue continued, "I figured out quickly he wasn't there to fuck, but for information. Heard about the king with his koto and he wanted to help. For the next year, I taught him how to play the koto, had no idea what he wanted with that back then. But then the king made me fall in love with him by playing that stupid cursed koto at me. Aaron... well, Bennie brought him to the palace and Aaron... played for the king... I saw his face, dammit, I saw his face and if I hadn't been so cursed and under that spell at the moment, his beauty would have taken my breath and heart away, I tell you.

"Wait, you never told me that you saw him!" Bennie's eyes were wide.

"Never thought it important. Heck, never thought it real. I tell you his beauty was not that of just any regular mortal. But I knew he wasn't any divine creature either. He was mortal, human, like all of us, but he wasn't like us, at least his beauty wasn't. If the gods ever saw him, I'm sure, they'd bow to and worship him," she said and Yala hummed.

"So it's just gotten a lot more plausible that he is that most beautiful being from Markon..." Yala muttered and Ansue nodded.

"Anyway, he didn't stay around for long then. The king was like under a spell, like the love spell his koto had put on me, and he thought the koto Aaron had was magic and wanted to trade, the idiot. The moment the koto left his hands, everyone in the harem snapped out of the spell. I took the koto in his hands, the very same koto I had taught Aaron to play on, and whacked the bastard over the head with it. The entire harem then proceeded to kill him. Twas bloody, the bloodiest day the room's ever seen, not the most blood I'd seen, though," she snorted at her own joke, her tone cold. "I'm grateful Aaron was there to trick that bastard. I think I might owe him my life at this point. Now, what's your story, Miss?"

Queen Yala ignored how rude that was, as did Isma. There were far more important matters at hand.

"It appears my encounter with him was the least bloody one. No blood was shed, in fact. He simply came to me and told me the bell lyre I had owned and played was dangerous. I simply gave it to him and he brought it away," she said and Merdi raised a brow at her.

"That's it?" she asked, honestly surprised.

"In hindsight, I'm glad I saw reason so quickly. I fear I would have ended up like the other rulers if I hadn't," Yala nodded. "But I had noticed the brooch he was wearing, and how I couldn't make out his face. I spent, as I said, the next twenty-five years researching who he might have been or belonged to or served. He wore the brooch of a god of wind. I have never heard of this god, and it appears neither have you. Do you think it might be a forgotten god?"

"Could be. But then, why would someone who... 'serves' him come to us and help us? Or why would a forgotten god get 'the most beautiful being' to be his servant?" Sequu, who had finally been able to calm himself down, asked.

"Soft spot for fellow mortals? Or maybe he just happened to find our problems and decided to fix them on a whim. Like I know him, probably the latter. Boy did not seem like someone with a soft spot for people," Ansue said and Yala looked at her in confusion.

"For people? You said that like you meant something with it," she questioned and Ansue snorted.

"He doesn't seem like he likes people a lot... seems to prefer other company to me," Ansue explained and Merdi nodded.

"He was in the company of men that did not appear mortal, the last time I saw him," Merdi supplied and Isma raised a brow at her.

"You say that like your last encounter was recent," she stated, less like a question.

"I did, actually. He decided to visit me just a week or two ago. He didn't stay for long, a few minutes, he had to hurry, he said, but wanted to see how things changed. He had two people with him... I think I recognized one of them but I cannot be sure... Say, you haven't brought any books on all our gods with you, have you?" Merdi asked and Yala nodded, looking for a moment before reaching for a book and handing it over to Merdi. Merdi took it and flipped through it, suddenly halting, her eyes going wide. "Goodness me!" she gasped.

"What's wrong?" Bennie asked with concern.

"The god of the moon! One of his companions was the god of the moon!" she gasped, "I had not only the most beautiful being in my presence, but also a god!"

"Wait, look through the book more. You said there were two, look who the other one was," Ansue said sternly and Merdi nodded, flipping through the pages and, as she reached the last few pages, she halted again and softly gasped.

"Who? Who was it?" Sequu asked, eyes wide and curious, his mind banishing all the negative feelings that had resurfaced along with that sound that had plagued his mind for so long.

"Th-the muse of-"

"A muse?!" Bennie gasped.

"The muse of Poetry... I can't believe it... I had been in such divine company! Goodness me!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness me! Poor Sequu was more traumatised by everything than anyone anticipated ;P  
> Also, in case you wanted to know how old everyone was when Aaron met them  
> Sequu was 17  
> Bennie was 18  
> Ansue was 24  
> Yala was 21  
> Merdi was 16


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! Have fun with this!

Aaron sat at the loom, weaving. He was almost done weaving the fabric, it was thin and soft, silky. As he finished weaving, he felt for the fabric, smiling at the softness of it. He had died the spun wool a soft, but dark blue. He removed the finished fabric from the loom, placing it onto one of the many tables, a table he had made himself, because the other tables were filled with Alexander's unfinished projects. He never had the heart to touch them, or to finish them for Alexander. He sighed as he let his gaze swipe through the large room. It was as big as he needed it to be, but it wasn't at its full size this very moment. He only needed a specific part of it. There were items, unfinished devices way ahead of their time strewn about on the tables around. He couldn't bear to look at them. He summoned a mist into the room, blocking his view of the other tables before the tears that began collecting in his eyes had the chance to escape them. He breathed in, a deep breath, in an attempt to steady his nerves from this sudden wave of feelings.

"You'll find him... Eventually..." he told himself, but something made him not believe himself, "Hope is the last thing that remains, that will remain when all is lost... Until it is lost as well..." he shook his head, "No, I can't lose hope, not now, not ever. He's alive... I can feel it, I can feel he's still alive. Hercules hasn't forgotten him yet, neither has James, he's still alive. I- I can't breathe, oh goodness, I can't breathe," he choked out, gripping the edge of the table, slapping a hand over his mouth.

He couldn't breathe, he felt this sudden pain in his chest that dragged down his entire body, through his spine, down his back, to his legs and arms, hands and feet. He got dizzy, the room began spinning and he saw black spots to the side of his vision. He gasped, chills and heats ran down his body, and he felt like any minute he'd vomit out his entire stomach onto the floor. He collapsed onto the floor, gripping at the table. The pain in his entire body wouldn't give way, wouldn't go away. He suddenly fell unconscious.

 

Alexander gasped and choked, the pain running through his entire scrambled being, shocks of pain, like lightning and thunder, blasting through his veins, through his being, choking the air out of his lungs. The pain shook him, made him contort, he felt blood, tasted it on his tongue. He screamed as the pain got more and more and more intense, tears streaming down his face as he couldn't bear it, begging for it to stop through screams and sobs and tearing and ripping out his hair, clawing at his skin in a sorry attempt to get out of his body and leave, somehow. But the pain didn't stop just yet and got even more intense than before. He was begging to die at this point, but whatever cruelty it was that did it, it kept him still alive and existing, trapped where he couldn't move, his powers draining from his body, his mind breaking, losing control over himself and everything, desperately grasping at any notion that he could grip and hold onto to ground himself, and the only thing that came to mind was Aaron.

Aaron.

Despite the pain, the smallest sort of smile crossed his lips. He hoped Aaron, his best friend, only one until Thomas and Hercules. He attempted to ignore the intense pain, beginning to hyperventilate, but he tried to keep his mind, at least, clear of the pain. He entertained memories of the past, so many years ago, too many, he thought solemnly. Solemnly he reminisced. He remembered the weeks and months he has spent with Aaron, being his only company, his only friend. He wished he could be with him right now, this very moment. Aaron must be worrying so. He wished he could be with him, ease his worries, take him into his arms and soothe his worried mind, smoothen the wrinkle on his forehead he knew would be there, it was a tell-tale sign of Aaron's worry. He marvelled a moment that the mere thought of having Aaron with him soothed his mind to this extent, as he was almost calm, despite the maddening pain he felt throughout his scrambled being. He ripped out his hair, clawed at his skin, but the thought of having Aaron with him, perhaps in his arms, calmed him so much. Eventually, he fell unconscious, slipped into darkness as the pain enveloped him.

 

Aaron gasped as he was shaken awake, cold sweat sticking to his skin. He heaved a sigh and gasped for air, coughing as blood from biting his tongue as he had fallen got into his lungs.

"Aaron! What happened to you! There was this sudden.... something, I don't know, an attack of some kind, but it came from within you!" Nae gasped, forcefully pushing Aaron's hood down to reveal his face so it could look at him.

Aaron flinched as he suddenly felt vulnerable, but he didn't dare to move. He was still dizzy and Nae flared its teeth at him as it forced his mouth open and peered inside. It nodded and pulled back, Aaron immediately threw the hood back over his head and wrapped his arms around himself.

"I don't know what happened... There was just this... sudden pain and I couldn't breathe and... I don't know what it was..." he sighed and looked to the side.

"If this repeats, I'm not sure what that would mean for you. This attack seems... not singular... There could be more on their way... has this ever happened before? Before me, I mean?" Nae asked and Aaron tried to remember such a time. He shook his head.

"I don't think I can remember a similar occurrence... but I do not want a repeat of this... You say it was an attack from within?" he finally asked.

"Yes, it appears that's what it was. It came from within you, but... somehow from far away. It's a strong link, but I can't make out from where it came from... It's... secluded, isolated... something, I can't quite tell..." Nae grumbled.

"How can you tell anything?" Aaron wondered.

"Simple, I share a sort of connection with you, as part of me is sown into a piece of clothing that has a lot of meaning to you, that you're quite attached to. Through my connection with you, I can feel any connection that other beings have with you. I felt the pain you felt, the attack. Not to the degree you felt it to, but some of it... Goodness, whatever being you're so attached to must have been in agonizing suffering to cause you this pain," Nae hummed. "But do you feel better now? Still dizzy?"

"A bit... I think I'm good for now... How long was I... out for?" he slowly asked, slowly getting up from the ground, grabbing the table to stabilize himself, breathing in deeply to try and calm his nerves anew. "Yes, I'll be okay."

"Should I worry your- what is he, your lover?" it asked and Aaron shook his head.

"I'd rather not. I'll tell him on my own, I suppose. Well, after I finished this, of course... What patterns should I stitch into the fabric?" he asked and Nae raised a brow.

"You just get back up like that, huh?" it asked and Aaron shrugged.

"Haven't much of a choice, now have I?" he chuckled bitterly, rummaging through the many spools of yarn. "Singing paradise flower gold or pegasus silver?"

"Pass on the pegasus, singing paradise flowers are always better," Nae scoffed, "Your life has been a thousand falls down on your face, hasn't it?"

"And I still get up," Aaron smiled and grabbed the golden yarn, "What patterns, though?"

"Swirling lines. Put a circle where his eye would have been. Well, he still has his eye, but... eh," Nae shrugged and Aaron grabbed a needle and pulled the thread through the eye of the needle and began working. "I don't know how you do it. You're a mere mortal, but you just keep getting up. You say you have no choice, but I never thought a mortal would simply... get back up like that."

"Life gives you little choice," he sighed, working the needle through the fabric. "I'm by no means an optimist, I just force myself to keep going, really. Someone has to."

"And you are that someone?" Nae asked.

"I'm the only one that can force myself to do that. And I have to keep going," he sighed. Nae hummed, studying him for a moment.

"But not for your sake." It wasn't a question, a simple statement. Aaron stopped for a beat, then turned right to work again.

"No," he simply said and Nae hummed.

"If not for your sake... for whose?" Nae asked curiously. Aaron opened his mouth, but he was stumped and closed it with a frown. He didn't notice the door opening behind him.

"I... I don't know... I mean... I think... Alexander? I... first I kept going for him, because he cared for me and... then he disappeared and... I didn't have anyone to keep going for, at least no one who was there, who was present... I was alone, more or less... But then I had Hercules and... and I fell in love... and I think I keep going for him..." he sighed.

"What would you do if he were to disappear as well? But disappear as in, he won't ever come back. Death-like," Nae asked and Aaron frowned deeply, his hand began trembling at the thought.

"I'd keep going for Alexander, to find him. But... if..." he tried.

"If he died?" Nae asked.

"I've been over this once... I'd either keep doing what I'm doing here, maintain the palace, the gardens, the animals, build and craft like he did, take over his role in the world... or I'd kill myself. Plain and simple," he growled to himself. He heard a gasp and snapped his head around, his eyes widening as he saw Hercules.

"You don't mean that," Hercules gasped, "You don't mean that, love!"

"I- my heart, you know me, I'm not careless with such notions... I... I know you cannot disappear like Nae suggested, so it won't come to that, don't you worry," he got up from his seat and rushed into Hercules' arms. Hercules threw his arms tightly around Aaron, pulling him close with desperation.

"Don't even suggest such an idea. I couldn't live with myself, knowing you would kill yourself if... if you somehow lost me. No, I won't even think it, I could not live with myself. How do I expel these notions from your mind!" he cried out.

"Don't worry, those thoughts rarely even occur to me!" he assured, "It was just... Goodness, how _did_ we get to such a train of thought!"

"Right, you fell unconscious after some intense pain attack, then got right back up and back to work, like it was nothing, and I commented on that," Nae supplied.

"What?" Hercules asked, eyes wide in surprise.

"Nae, I thought we agreed that I should tell him," Aaron glared at Nae, who snickered and disappeared in a blue light. Aaron growled, then turned his head back around to Hercules who looked down at him concerned and worried. "I swear I was going to tell you," he promised, taking Hercules' hand into his, and Hercules just sighed and shook his head, placing a kiss on Aaron's head.

"I'm just... glad you're alright... Well, now anyway. I just hope that you'll... tell me whenever these notions cross your mind. I want to be there for you, love. I couldn't bear the thought of you dying at your own hands," he pleaded and Aaron smiled up at him with such love in his eyes. He slowly pushed the hood from his head, revealing his face, though he felt so suddenly vulnerable. Hercules gasped and led a hand to Aaron's cheek, gently cupping it and smiling down at him.

"I love you. Know that, please," Aaron smiled and turned his head to kiss the palm of the hand that was cupping his cheek, "Whatever happens, whatever may occur, know that I love you."

Hercules returned the look filled with love and added atop of that was utter adoration as he leaned forwards to gently put their lips together in a tender kiss. He was still concerned but he trusted Aaron, he trusted him to tell him.

"I love you too, so incredibly much, you won't believe just how much," he breathed as he slightly pulled away and Aaron chuckled.

"Oh, I think I can imagine, my heart," he grinned, love-struck, and leant in again to kiss Hercules. This kiss, again, was tender and gentle and loving, both of them just bursting from the adoration they felt for the other. Aaron pulled away and placed their foreheads together, staring deeply into Hercules' eyes as they smiled at each other. "I still need to finish and then cut the fabric. And sew it together and fit it onto James... What do you say we head to the next temple after this?"

"Sounds lovely, which would be the next?" he asked.

"Darkness, I believe. Sounds inviting," Aaron chuckled.

"It sounds a tad more inviting than the temple of Death, I do believe," Hercules snickered.

"Really? But it was such a lively and lovely place!" Aaron grinned and Hercules snorted.

"Yes, very lively, indeed. I bet it was like a party in there," Hercules grinned in response and let go of Aaron, who then turned around and back to his work stitching patterns into the fabric, with which he was almost done with anyway.

"Like you wouldn't believe. Dead people all around having a party, some even crazy enough to be stuck on the ceiling! Imagine that!" he laughed and finished the last stitches, grabbing the pins and scissors from the side of the table and summoned the statue of a head. (He didn't know whose head this was supposed to be, but he knew it had a similar form to James' and Hercules didn't seem to recognize it either.)

"What was in the temple of Death, now that we're on the topic?" Hercules asked and grabbed a chair from another table, sitting down next to Aaron as Aaron worked.

"Like I said: dead people all around, some even hanging from the ceiling," he smiled and Hercules paused.

"You... you weren't kidding?" he asked, concern filling his voice, drop by drop.

"Oh, nothing to worry about. They were all skeletons, rotted away years ago, perhaps even centuries ago. Actually, I'm not sure how they got there in the first place. I suspect they were priests from different temples, Earth through Death, but none of the others. I wonder if I'll ever find the bodies of those, because I think they also should be in a temple somewhere. Now that you remind me, I think I wrote down some of their dying-breath-messages. I wanted to read them and- now that reminds me I found the diary or journal of the goddess of life!" he piped up. Hercules raised a brow.

"Life? The goddess of life?" he asked and Aaron nodded as he cut the fabric.

"Yes, she's dead, it appears, otherwise you would know her. I wonder if she has any relation to the goddess of Fertility?" he wondered.

"Maria?"

"Yes, both cause life to exist, if I'm not mistaken. I wonder if they knew each other?" Aaron hummed.

"Well, do you know when the goddess of life died?" Hercules asked. Aaron began sewing the fabric so it could be worn comfortably.

"I'm not sure, but it seems like that was some time ago..." he mumbled.

"Well, perhaps they didn't if she died a long time ago. I don't quite remember when Maria came into existence, but I believe it was about five centuries, or six of them ago," he mused.

"Well, then not, probably. I suspect that all these gods died around the same time, which was a heck of a long time ago. Well... or maybe not that long... Alexander 'died' only three centuries ago so they couldn't have-... Though perhaps..." he hummed in thought, stopping his work for only a beat as a thought occurred to him, "If a god can only die once forgotten... and these gods seemed to have a lot of worshippers, then that would mean it would take a lot of time for them all to die so that they couldn't pass on the faith. A century at the very least! Perhaps they each died apart from each other, one after the other, like passing on an illness..."

"An illness?" Hercules inquired and Aaron nodded.

"An illness that leaves you weak and... you die from it... But Alexander survived it, barely, but he did..." Aaron continued.

"He keeps getting up," Hercules supplied with a smile, "Just like you."

"We have discovered we are quite similar, the same even, in many regards, though total opposites in others. It's lovely, really. We had-" he shook his head, "Have," he said more firmly, "Have so much in common that we can be so comfortable with sharing these things with each other, yet we are also so completely different that we teach each other something new each and every day. It's always been amazing," he beamed, then put the finishing touches on the- what was it? A large eyepatch? "Done," he whispered to himself with a smile.

"I never quite had the opportunity to discover this dynamic between you two. To me, I've only seen Alexander for three days before he disappeared. I've spent many a year, thirty or so with you, in comparison... Goodness, that _is_ a lot of time. I finally understand how you feel a life-time has passed!" Hercules smiled sadly.

"Come, I want to see if this fits on James," Aaron said after a solemn pause and got up from the chair, pulling his hood onto his head again, making his face unrecognisable. Hercules smiled at him and got up as well, following Aaron out of the room.

"I do miss seeing your face sometimes. To really know what you're feeling by looking at you, instead of relying on the bond we share for me to decipher your moods," Hercules said, careful with his words. He didn't want this to come across wrong. Aaron took it with a smile that Hercules felt. "I hate that it makes you feel vulnerable, but in the same breath it's good for you to have something that can make you feel safe when even I can't."

"You make me feel a lot safer than the cloak can ever make me feel. It hardly makes me feel all that vulnerable anymore. It does a bit, still, but it is mostly just uncomfortable without it... Perhaps one day I may take it off without that feeling filling up my stomach till bursting. But until then, I'm afraid you must learn what I had to learn with Alexander," he shrugged with a smile as he descended the stairs and pulled out the map, locating James in the library, then heading in that direction.

"With Alexander?" Hercules repeated with confusion.

"Oh, Alexander was invisible to me. Have I never told you? This would be the sort of thing I'd tell you about, wouldn't it?" Aaron blinked.

"I don't recall... perhaps you have but I can't remember..." Hercules mused.

"Solid possibility. I forget things constantly! Miracle alone keeps this palace up and running!" he laughed.

"But it sounds impressive, you knowing exactly how Alexander feels, despite not being able to see anything of him. I, at least, am still able to read some of your body language. But if you can't see Alexander at all- goodness, I can scarcely imagine that!" he exclaimed, though a proud smile crossed his lips, "A brilliant mastermind is what you are. I am truly the luckiest to call you mine and be called yours in return."

He stopped Aaron and gave him a soft kiss, at which Aaron grinned.

"Sap," he laughed and Hercules mock-scoffed at him in return.

"Just because I love you, you believe you can play like that," he grinned and Aaron shrugged.

"I do have you completely enthralled and under my spell, my heart," Aaron returned the grin.

"Oh, the truth you speak, my love. One word from you, and I fall to my knees at your feet. One demand, and I rush to fulfil it. One order and I strive to obey," he posed dramatically and Aaron chuckled and headed for the library, finding the doors not too soon after and throwing them open with a dramatic flair.

They quickly found James sitting near one of the glass stained windows, a rare sight- the windows, not James sitting by one. Aaron smiled and headed over to him quickly, the winged sandals aiding him in this. He startled James who then jumped up. James had been reading something, but in being startled had thrown it behind himself.

"You startled me, you two!" James exclaimed, pressing a hand to his heart (over the letters, but Aaron did not know this yet). Aaron grinned and presented James with the large eyepatch. James looked at it for a moment with confusion, then realised what it was and his eyes widened. "For me?"

"No, for the statue behind you. Of course, it's for you!" Aaron chuckled and took James' hand and placed the eye-patch onto it. "What are you waiting for? Put it on!"

James quietly nodded, marvelling for a moment over how the soft the fabric was to the touch. He slowly, cautiously placed it over the scarred skin and tried to tie it behind his head, failing the first few tries, but eventually, he got it fixed.

"Does it fit?" Hercules asked and James shifted the large eye-patch around so it was comfortably tight around his head. Thankfully, thanks to Aaron's potion, it did not hurt upon touch.

"It does, yes. Thank you, Aaron, I don't dese-"

"Shush, I won't have that lying in my household," Aaron playfully chided. James felt bad, but forced himself to go along with it and forced a smile onto his lips. The large eyepatch covered the entire left half of James' face, leaving not one bit of scarred skin to be visible to anyone. This made James feel so much better about himself, so much less self-conscious, so much less reminded that this was a punishment given by Thomas. He discarded the thought. He knew he deserved punishment, but he also knew that this was not appropriate, being an eternal punishment that would last even after the lesson was learned, which it had been even before the punishment had been inflicted. What else was a punishment for?

He smiled at Aaron and thanked him again, and again and thanked him tenfold for what he did. He knew Aaron was not aware of exactly why James was thanking (and apologizing) so much to him, and he wanted, so desperately wanted to reveal it to him, but again, there was something that kept him from doing so. A little something that also told him that the punishment Thomas had given him was entirely deserved. This notion was ridiculous, he knew it, an eternal punishment, with such an impact, as this was just not appropriate. After all, once the punished has learned through their punishment, the punishment should stop, shouldn't it? If it shouldn't, as he knew some would argue, then what was the point of punishing? Was it not to teach the punished one a lesson? To teach them it was not good what they had done? If one prolonged the punishment even until after the punished has learned, then what does that do? It needlessly prolongs suffering that is undeserved at that very point in time. No punishment should go on forever, but this little voice in the back of his head told him that he especially deserved this. That he should not fight it. He tried his best to banish these thoughts and ignore them whenever they occur, but they were too strong some times. Too strong for him to ignore, but he tried. Even if he failed in the end, he could say that he at least tried with all his might, just that he wasn't good enough. And perhaps that's fine.

"So, anyone up for temple exploring?" Aaron suddenly asked with a grin, startling James out of his thoughts.

"I'm all up for it," Hercules grinned in return.

"I know you are," Aaron said, then turned to James, "You?"

"I suppose. Which temple is the next one?" he asked and Aaron's grin grew brighter.

"The temple of darkness!" he beamed and James couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" James laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because it would be fun and to answer questions and flesh out the world a bit more afterwards, I think I will start to write some 'essays' (no idea what else to call this concept) and stuff to explain and tell you about certain things about the story or characters or so on. Most of these (because I already have some (a lot) ideas for this) could only be written/published AFTER the completion of this fic. Those would be the ones talking about things that haven't happened yet or reference things that haven't happened yet. The things I could talk about for example would be: 1. an explanation of the Carriers (in case I won't get around to give one in the story because their role is not that big actually); 2. about the artefacts, other items and stuff (superficial things only, like appearance, origin etc, would be an ongoing thing as the fic nears completion); 3. about characters (superficial and ongoing); 4. the meaning of James being scarred.  
> If this sounds like something you want to read, or if you hate the idea, just tell me so in the comments! In the 'essays' after the compeltion of the fic, I would mainly try to answer your questions about certain things that weren't sufficiently cleared up here. An exception of this would, for example, be an essay about chapter 19, or an essay about specific scenes and dialogue (Through which I would hope to let you gain a deeper understanding of what I did/tried to do)


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Temple of darkness! Neato!

They exited the realm of gods with ease, travelling downwards into the mortals' realm. Dawn was approaching the world as Thomas led the sun slowly into the sky to watch upon the world below. James nervously gripped onto Aaron's cloak, an attempt to ground himself and it made him feel better. It helped, Aaron and Hercules' presence was grounding. He could not believe his luck, having the trust and friendship of these two. Half a smile came to his lips at the thought, though his mood was soured once more at his own cowardice. A sigh escaped his lips and with his other hand, he brushed over the silky soft material of the eyepatch. He felt the light of the sun, though soft before, immediately become a harsh glare the moment the light touched him. He knew Thomas saw him. He also knew Thomas would not attempt anything, but he felt, distinctly he felt, what Thomas wanted to do, which made a shudder run down his spine. The pain in his eye flared up with an unbridled vengeance and his breathing became heavier, through his nose, and he kept the whimpers low that wanted to crawl through his throat. The pain subsided a bit as his feet hit the ground.

"Where is this temple, Aaron?" he asked, cautiously and Aaron glared up at the sun.

"It's where the sun does never shine, above the ground, a shrine of darkness upon the path of misery, on the edge of desperation," Aaron smiled at him and James' brows furrowed in confusion. Aaron laughed, "I have a feeling I know where that is." He said and turned around to look up at a mountain.

"But the sun shines on mountains especially," James said with a confused frown.

"Yes, but a mountain is excellent at keeping the light of the sun away on the other side, especially if it isn't really a mountain, but a very special crater!" Aaron grinned.

"How do you know this crater, love?" Hercules asked and Aaron sighed.

"We came by this crater when I was to be brought to the palace. We had to let the horses take a break and I tried to run away. Ran all the way up to the edge of the crater before I was dragged back to the carriage. I had asked Alexander about this place at some point and he told me it's the one place above ground that the sun has never shone upon, during its entire existence. Just recently I found out why. While I took breaks making your eyepatch, James, I read a bit of the diary of the goddess of life. The sun was made by the god of fire, and the god of light, Philip and George, respectively, and they made it to shine on every place on this world, but apparently, they forgot a spot, and the sun has never shone on that spot, ever. This, I believe, should be that spot," Aaron grinned.

"I can't wrap my head around this... fire and light, I've never heard of those gods..." James mumbled to himself, but Aaron heard.

"Well, yeah, they're dead. I'm still trying to figure out what happened to them. Because something like that must have happened to Alexander, too, I just know it. And he didn't disappear upon 'dying', like those gods did. And he has a temple like them... A temple unlike any I've seen before. Old, no doubt. Centuries, millennia perhaps. But he's like them, connected to them, in a way. I hope I can find out just how their deaths relate to his. Why he survived it... how I can help him regain his status..." Aaron said, a frown playing on his lips with a sigh.

"I'm sure we can... How about we head on up there, hm?" Hercules tried to cheer Aaron up. Aaron smiled up at him sadly, a pang of guilt stabbed through James' heart and he kept his head low and walked behind Aaron and Hercules as they began to climb up the crater. It was tall and at the top, James knew, it would be impossible to simply walk, which made him wonder how Aaron had once managed to _run_ up to the edge of the crater. Desperation, he supposed, could make a mortal be driven to the impossible.

As they reached the edge of the crater they looked to the dark pit below them. They could not see a thing, no light hit the bottom or the edges of the crater, and it made it appear like a black hole that would suck them in and never let them return into the realm they knew. Aaron shrugged his shoulders and began descending downwards, Hercules, quite startled at this nonchalantness, behind him and James quickly following.

"Well, hello, darkness, old friend... Goodness, it's _too_ dark..." James mumbled and Hercules raised a brow, though no one could see this, and he turned to James' voice.

"Wait, don't you-"

"Darkness is my strength, yes. It does not mean I like it. Why do you think do I keep the moon shining in the night? Why do you think do I use my powers to create light?" James grumbled slightly.

"Goodness, we'll get lost like this," Aaron grumbled. "Nae, we could use your light?" No response. "Wow, okay, fine, don't then." he grumbled. Aaron grabbed under his robe and reached around, looking for something, humming with a triumphant tone when he found it. The moon amulet James had gifted him so many years ago. He pulled the amulet out of his robe, and immediately the moon stone began glowing brightly, revealing Aaron's triumphant grin.

"Oh, you kept it?" James asked, surprised.

"He literally never takes it off," Hercules supplied.

"I know that if I take it off, I might misplace it and not find it. It finally gets to be used now!" he grinned and James chuckled fondly, an appreciative smile on his lips in response.

"Well then... Let's go looking for this temple then... Any clue where it might be?" James asked then and Aaron nodded.

"Best guess would be the smack middle. Or near it, at least. I wonder if there are going to be any inscriptions, _seeing_ as we normally couldn't see them," Aaron chuckled and Hercules glared at him.

"I thought you stopped with those type of jokes!" he huffed and Aaron snickered.

"I can't _see_ why there would be a problem," Aaron winked and Hercules playfully groaned.

"Please, just stop," Hercules was holding back a laugh, badly.

"Stop what?" he grinned.

"No," Hercules slapped a hand to his eyes.

"Come on, you have to tell me, otherwise you're just _leaving me in the dark_!" Aaron laughed, Hercules whined.

"Why must I be punished like this!" he gasped dramatically.

"It's a dark world we live in," James joined in with a snort and Aaron cackled at the joke while Hercules just kept on groaning.

"Okay, that's it, I'm leaving both of you," Hercules threw up his arms and Aaron snorted and hugged him from behind, kissing his neck.

"No, my heart, don't leave. I can reign it in, I promise!" Aaron whined lowly and Hercules smiled, turned around and kissed him.

"Right, Hercules, just this once, _turn a blind eye_!" James pointed at his eyepatch and laughed and Aaron snorted. Hercules groaned, burying his head into Aaron's.

"What have I done to deserve this?" his voice was muffled, but Aaron still understood and laughed heartily.

"Only the best, my heart, only the best," Aaron kept grinned and then let go of Hercules after kissing his cheek. He went ahead and led them onwards, illuminating what looked like a path with the moon amulet. "Path of misery," he grinned, quickening his pace as he followed the slight path. Everything else around them was pitch black, only this small pocket of light shining from the amulet. James felt himself reminded of the most hopeless time in his existence, during the darkest part of his depression. He almost chuckled at that specifically, but shook his head as they kept walking through the thick blanket of darkness.

"Shouldn't there be something for you to use the spell on that you learned?" Hercules asked and Aaron nodded.

"To get into the temple, yes, but I don't see anything to use it on..." he mumbled. Hercules gave it a thought and mulled it over for a moment.

"Maybe," he began, "You can't see it until you've used the spell?" he tried. The idea made Aaron halt and look at Hercules with surprised eyes.

"You know what? That just might work," he nodded and grabbed the moon amulet, tucking it under his robes, the light disappearing and letting the darkness around them tuck them into a thick blanket of it. Aaron held out his hands in front of himself and gracefully moved them for the spell of 'Guiding Life'. Tiny balls of light came flocking from the ground, but he didn't call for them to come to him, instead, he told them to go back home and, as if excited, the balls of light rushed forwards, possession something on the ground and merging with it. Suddenly, plants, like flowers, sprung up on the edges of the path, but these flowers were odd. Instead of a bloom, a ball of light glowed brightly on each of them, illuminating the path ahead, flower upon flower springing back to life off of the ground and letting them see, then reaching an imposing building and reaching inside, illuminating it as well, albeit a tad dimly. Aaron squealed excitedly and jumped into Hercules' arms, kissing him. "Brilliant! You're brilliant, my heart!" he yelped with a grin which Hercules couldn't help but return and kiss back. James couldn't help but smile as well. The energetic power he had felt from the darkness slowly left to the edges.

"Well then. Let's go and find what we need then!" James smiled and Aaron nodded, rushing ahead with winged feet into the temple, James and Hercules struggling to keep up with his flying. Once they reached inside the temple they saw Aaron flitting from wall to wall, scribbling things down, gasping at the inscriptions and hurrying to the next in rapid succession, making sure to take in the many symbols and stories before rushing to the next room. This temple appeared fairly small, from what they could see this very moment. The temple was also brightly illuminated, much more so than the path outside, so many more of the glowing flowers lining the ground and walls and ceiling. Excitedly, Aaron flew around, finally jotting down everything he deemed important enough. He was just about to rush to the next room.

"Love, wait, please!" Hercules asked with a fond smile, making Aaron immediately stop in his tracks, "I know you're excited, but we can hardly keep up with you!"

"Oh, sorry, it's just- I mean- yes, I admit I am a bit excited, who knows why," he laughed at himself and Hercules chuckled while James could only smile.

"What have you found thus far?" James asked.

"Stories, as always. The goddess of darkness created the moon, apparently, but had designed it to be the opposite to the sun which the god of fire and light had created before, she found it unfair that their sun... 'overshadowed' the darkness- don't look at me like that!" he yelped when Hercules glared at him, "That's word for word what the story says! Don't kill the messenger! Anyway, she created the moon and, well, at first it only made darkness, that's how the night was made, but then she refused to let the sun turn the night bright- turn it into day, I mean- and the god of light, behind her back, painted the moon with light. It was weak light and he knew it would go out at some point, so he linked it directly to her powers, so as long as she stayed powerful, the moon would keep glowing. She was absolutely furious when she found out and wove a veil to cover the moon with, so that the night would remain dark. But then the god of light broke some crystals and threw them into the night sky, making the stars that would shine upon our realm. Those were too many lights for the goddess of darkness to cover with a veil, so she gave up, and asked the god of light to at least be allowed to make the day like night. The god of light agreed and, every once in a while, she puts the moon in front of the sun for a bit to turn day into night, at least for a bit," he explained and James' eyes widened in surprise.

"Th-that's how my- I mean, _the_ moon was created?" he gaped and Aaron nodded.

"According to this story, yes. The moon and the stars. The more you know!" he grinned and flitted around the room again, double-checking if he'd written everything down he needed to, nodding when he did and then gesturing for the others to follow him into the next room.

This room was equally as illuminated as the other one and Aaron grinned all around as he noticed the structure of this room. A circle, and smack in the middle was a pedestal, upon which a simple book, thin, but its cover a simple black, nothing special appeared to be about it. Aaron hurried up to it, excited for the spell he would learn.

He fluttered through the pages, skipping page upon page that was of disinterest, until he got to the page he needed and he grinned brightly as he finally found it. James and Hercules followed into the room with him and approached him, James peeking over Aaron's shoulder with curiosity. Aaron read the spell and internalized it, memorising each part of it with practised ease as he then stretched out his right hand. The spell was very simple, the symbol rather easy. It was called 'Snuffing out the Light'. The symbol for the spell was five dots connected by one line reaching into the middle collecting into a sixth dot. He held out his right hand, open and then quickly snapped it shut, almost, only the fingertips touching and closing. He nodded, looking around and immediately finding what he'd have to use the spell on. With a grin, he pointed his hand, which he'd opened again, at a group of glowing flowers and performed the spell. Exceeding his expectations, the entire room snapped into a state of black darkness, eliciting a surprised yelp from both James and Hercules while Aaron only gasped in surprise and winced slightly. The light of the glowing flowers had died completely, lost to the darkness, but there was still something glowing. But glowing green. Aaron blinked at this, as did James and Hercules.

There was writing on the walls. In glowing ink, Aaron realised. Ink that only glowed in the dark. He had heard legends of such an ink, but never had he thought he would encounter it, too. he approached the inscriptions and read them.

"What does it say?" Hercules asked, voice a bit trembling with surprise.

"It says that this ink was created by the goddess of darkness herself. This isn't light, it's not actually glowing... It's only made visible in the dark, gaining power from it. It says that the god of light had stolen this ink and had painted the moon with it," Aaron explained.

"Anything else of importance, perhaps?" James asked and Aaron shook his head, then looked around, there were more inscriptions. There was one right on the other side of the moon in a strange spot on the wall and he flitted over to it.

" 'What the light hides is revealed in darkness. Only when you cannot see, is every truth revealed to you.' What a strange phrase..." Aaron muttered, setting himself onto the ground. He glared at the wall in front of him suspiciously, or what he assumed to be the wall. This thought sparked an idea and he reached forward, expecting his hand to hit the wall, but it went right through. He took out the moon amulet and let it glow upon that spot. And yes. There was a solid looking wall right in front of him, where he had just stuck his arm into. He blinked, reached forward and touched the wall. It was right there. He kept his hand on the wall with a glare, and slowly out the amulet back under his robes, the room falling back into darkness. Suddenly, the wall disappeared and Aaron yelped as his hand went right through a doorway. James and Hercules followed his voice quickly.

"Are you alright?" Hercules and James asked in worried unison.

"Yes, just... I wasn't prepared for this wall to suddenly disappear. This must be the room leading to the artefact. Let's go inside," Aaron began to grin through the split second of nervousness and entered the room through the doorway, James and Hercules gripping at his cloak to not lose him as they followed.

Once they were all in the room, Aaron made them let go of his cloak as he found more of the green glowing ink inscriptions upon the walls. He flitted to them, reading them out loud.

" 'While darkness reveals what light cannot, the light reveals that what it ought. While light reveals that what you seek, the dark reveals that what you need.' So odd, it even rhymes when translated word for word!" Aaron smiled, then thought about the meaning of the words, "Reveals what it ought... What ought the light reveal to me, I wonder? Reveals what I seek... What do I seek in this temple then?"

"I am rather curious about this. I do wonder what the artefact will be. Anyone have a guess?" James smiled and Hercules hummed in thought.

"Well, I'm not so sure what would fit here. Unlike with the first four artefacts- well, again, except the very first, I suppose- these artefacts of Death and life appear to be... thematic. A sickle can be used to kill and, well, harvest life, I suppose, and water does help to bring life, any gardener shall tell you that. It appears it will be something that, uh, 'produces' the god's element..." Hercules tried and James and Aaron nodded.

"That sounds about right. Well, guess I'll have to shine some light on things," Aaron grinned and Hercules groaned. Aaron snickered and pulled out the moon amulet again, dimly illuminating the room. All the glowing text disappeared immediately, the doorway disappeared as well, shutting them into the room. There was another pedestal in the middle of the room, and Aaron flitted down to it, but there was nothing on it. He blinked in confusion.

He put the moon amulet away, everything went dark, and he put his hand on the pedestal. But it was gone. Instead, there was a hole into which he almost fell. No, it wasn't really a hole. He had just almost fallen down the side where the stairs didn't begin.

"There are stairs here. I'm gonna go down there. Wanna come with?" he asked into the darkness.

"Uh, yes, please. I don't want you to go down there alone. Who knows what might be down there!" James exclaimed in worry and Aaron smiled at this.

"Well, then come here, both of you," he said and James and Hercules, finding each other first, went and followed Aaron's voice, and eventually reached him and Aaron took hold of their hands. He then proceeded to lead them down the stairs, which were winding downwards for a bit, until they reached a completely different room.

"Can you get some light in here?" Hercules asked and Aaron shook his head, looking around and eventually finding the soft glow of the green glowing ink upon the walls. They were the directions to the next temple! Aaron tried his best to write them down in the darkness for later.

Carefully, he walked along the room, along the walls, feeling along them. They had a curve to them, and after a while, he had returned back at the beginning. It was a circle structured room, but without another exit. He grinned. This had to be the room. He 'looked' for the pedestal he knew had to be in the middle, but he found nothing. Frustrated, he pulled out the amulet and let it shine. Suddenly, a pedestal appeared right before him.

Upon the pedestal lay a simple umbrella, black, the symbol for the spell almost invisible, tiny and small on the handle. He carefully picked up the umbrella, and he knew immediately that it was the artefact, as he felt an odd power surge through him, a bit more pronounced than any other time he had picked up an artefact. He put the amulet back under his robes, the light disappearing, but the umbrella didn't. Aaron grinned.

"I got it!" he exclaimed and beamed.

"Great! Can we get out of here? This darkness is freaking me out a bit..." James admitted.

"You should have seen the temple of Death then!" Aaron laughed and found his way over to James and Hercules, leading them both up the stairs again.

"Something tells me I don't want to have seen that," he mumbled, causing Aaron to snort and shake his head as he led them out of the temple ('Finally!' exclaimed Hercules.) and to the illuminated path.

Leading them out of the crater was easier than navigating that dark temple, and Aaron was somewhat relieved to see light again, breathing out in relief.

"Oh, Aaron, did you get directions to the next temple?" Hercules asked. Aaron nodded.

"Yeah, I did. The next temple, unsurprisingly, will be the temple of light! In the valley where the sun always shines and rests when the day is over and all the world's asleep. It says here that it's near the Winding Woods," he said, reading the directions from his notebook with a smile. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Cruel, but justified.

"I don't think we should go there just today. Tomorrow should be fine, right? I'm really tired for some reason," Hercules yawned, "Let's go home."

"Agreed," James nodded, yawning too. Aaron hummed in thought as he looked down onto the umbrella in his hands.

"You two go ahead... I, uh, I just had an idea for something and... I kinda have to do it before the day ends," he said and Hercules raised a brow at him.

"What do you need to do?" he asked and Aaron waved the question away.

"Nothing that'll put me in harm's way, if you're concerned about that. Don't worry, I'll be home before you two know it!" he grinned and James looked at him worried.

"Uhm... Okay, but... be careful, whatever you want to do," he said and Aaron nodded with a bright smile.

"Don't worry, I'm always careful!" he assured, "I'll see you two later!"

Reluctantly, Hercules and James left for the realm above without Aaron, in whose mind a plan was forming. A plan of revenge. But not for himself.

He knew where the Winding Woods were, and while he dreaded to return to that very place, he had to in order to get his idea turned into practice. With a growl he flitted across the world, taking half an hour to reach his destination, air rushing around him, in his ears, his heartbeat increasing in both dread and fear of the place, and utter excitement. Finally, he could make him pay. He reached the Winding Woods and swiftly entered them. Immediately, he was bombarded with the spirits and their dreadful voices.

_Ah, the whore again._

"Strategic whore, if you would," Aaron tried to turn this into a joke.

_But a whore nonetheless, whether for strategy or not. And what wonder? With that whore friend you-_

"Prostitute," Aaron corrected, "That's the term. Don't get your terms mixed up. People hate that, I heard."

_But still, you are a whore, with the king, with Hercules-_

"Hold it, hold it, hold it. You were the ones who made me feel like shit about not sleeping with him, and know you try to make me feel bad about sleeping with him? I smell double-standard," Aaron scoffed, crossing his arms.

_Look at you, thinking that denying anything we say is going to make it any less true. Playing like you don't have any weakness, any flaw-_

"I never said or thought that I'm flawless. Goodness, I'm nowhere near flawless! I'm extremely screwed up, I know that," Aaron laughed, "But hey, that's what makes life so... weirdly entertaining in its own weird way. Don't you think so?"

For a moment the voices were quiet.

_You have come here for something and we know for what. Your plan is cruel, which makes you cruel. Do you really want that? You know Hercules would hate y-_

"Hercules loves me, as I do him. A lot, very passionately so. He wouldn't outright like it, but it would not be something he would hate me for," Aaron shook his head, "Now, as you said, you know what I'm here for. So, can you help me make it happen or not?"

The voices were still for another moment.

_Your cruelty matches our own._

"I'll take that as a compliment, though, I doubt the validity of that statement," Aaron shrugged. The spirits cackled.

_You're a hypocrite. You condemn cruelty, yet you are cruel yourself. You have killed a cruel queen in cold blood, yet, if it would benefit you, you would be just as cruel as her._

"I wouldn't say 'just as cruel'. I don't think that's possible, I mean. I know I'm a hypocrite, yes, but right now I couldn't care less. I came to get your help to take revenge on someone who has eternally hurt someone whom I am currently close to. I wish for an eternal pain to be inflicted upon him in return," he growled.

_You are aware of what we do?_

"Very," he spat and the spirits giggled maliciously.

_Well will help_

"Great," Aaron spat, "How do we start?"

_A crown of madness made of branches to plant into his head an array of us which we shall pick out ourselves._

"Fantastic."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little tip: Do not, ever, mess with someone Aaron considers a friend (AT THE VERY LEAST), because if you do... I cannot guarantee your survival unless you are literally immortal... but I cannot guarantee you will get out of that without harm. Next temple is the temple of light! yay! That would be the last one!  
> Also, if anyone of you gets what the name of the spell of this temple is a reference to, I'll send a virtual high five your way! Or hug, you choose


	43. Chapter 43

_You are truly despicable._

"Don't I know it?" Aaron scoffed as he was about to leave the forest.

_What would he think? Your love?_

"What do you care?" Aaron raised a brow. One more step and he'd be out of these woods.

_How will he react when he finds out he had fallen in love with someone like you? Someone who plans such awful things, such a despicable creature._

"How would you react if I told you I don't care?" he scoffed.

_Lies._

"Oh, so you _can_ tell the truth. Such news. Alright then. If you are able to tell the truth, tell me: What are you?" he asked with a growl, turning around as if to face them, though there were no material things to face.

_Now, what causes you to think you know not the truth about us?_

"Because I've been told what you are by James-"

_You don't trust him? You really shouldn't._

"Right, that's not what I meant. James told me what you are, but I want you to tell me what you are," he growled. "I have only ever heard you. And I cannot find the truth without seeing it."

_Are you sure you are prepared to face us?_

"One way to find out," he challenged.

"Right you are."

 

Hercules' head shot up when he heard the large palace doors open to reveal Aaron, standing there with a deep, cold stare, worry creasing his brows and a scowl resting on his lips, his hood thrown off. Aaron gulped, closed his eyes and let out a breathy and heavy sigh. Hercules gave him a look of worry, but Aaron didn't seem to notice him and simply closed the doors and was about to walk past him. Hercules reached out and placed a hand on Aaron's shoulder. Aaron halted, finally noticing Hercules was in the room with him, but the cold in his eyes did not disappear, his stare remained deep and vacant, though a bit more aware.

"What happened, love?" Hercules asked and Aaron blinked, rubbing his eyes and groaning.

"T-tomorrow, my heart, yes? I'm... not feeling well..." he mumbled and tried to walk past Hercules, but he was stopped. Hercules softly placed a gentle hand on Aaron's shoulder and made him turn to him. With a gasp, he saw bruises and claw marks slashed and pressed into Aaron's neck and throat.

"Aaron, love, what happened! Who attacked you?!" the concern that slicked his voice grew into a small panic, especially as Aaron just shook his head, but hissed at the pain.

"It's... it's alright... the wounds won't scar... much as I'd like them to..." he managed out despite the pain in his throat.

"No, love, what happened?" Hercules pulled Aaron close into a protective hug.

"The... I went into the Winding Woods," he admitted and Hercules pulled away, shock chasing away the worry for a moment before it reclaimed dominance in his eyes.

"Why were you in the Winding Woods?" he pressed and Aaron sighed, rubbing at the bruises and hissing at the pain.

"May I first take care of these?" he pointed to the gashes, "It hurts, my heart," he mumbled and Hercules nodded quickly and let go of Aaron who then proceeded to summon a door with blue chains wrapped around it. The door was grey and in the shape of a plant Hercules didn't quite recognize. Aaron knocked against the chains and they disappeared into a blue light, the door opening on its own, revealing behind it rows upon rows of shelves with potions, herbs and jars filled with other things in them. Aaron stepped inside and Hercules wasn't sure if he was supposed or allowed to follow, but as the door neither closed nor disappeared behind Aaron he assumed he was at least allowed to step foot inside.

So he followed Aaron inside. He did not know this room and he counted himself very lucky that he was allowed inside. As he followed, Aaron scanned the shelves for the potion he needed, though he found it soon enough with a relieved smile. As Aaron took the potion off the shelf, Hercules studied him. Aaron looked far too calm about this, about everything, whatever had happened. Hercules just wanted to help, desperately wanted to fix whatever wrong had happened, desperately wanted to comfort Aaron. This was a side about Aaron that Hercules did not like. He knew that right now Aaron would not be very inclined to share what had happened to him, and Hercules did not like whenever Aaron was like this. Hercules needed to be able to help, but he knew he could only wait until Aaron would come to him about it. So, with a sigh, he kept on following Aaron, and he helped apply the potion to Aaron's neck and throat when he was asked to help.

They sat in their bedroom atop their bed together, Hercules applying the potion to Aaron's neck and throat, massaging the purple semi-liquid into the bruised and wounded skin.

"Please, tell me," he asked with a solemn expression, directly looking into Aaron's eyes, a sight he rarely got to see. The sight of Aaron's eyes took his breath right away, and the spell of beauty threatened to ensnare him into not asking further, but he needed to know how to help ease the tension out of Aaron, how to help him. Aaron gave him a soft smile at which Hercules sucked in a breath and a blush coated his cheeks.

"I... I went back to the Winding Woods... Back to the spirits and demons that..." he said and Hercules' eyes widened and he nodded, silently asking him to continue, "Ah, you remember... I'd rather not remember, but... Alas, I had hoped it to be a thing of the past, but I had to go back there..."

"But whatever made you go back there? Wait, have they-"

"No, they did not plant themselves into my head. Don't worry, my heart," Aaron smiled softly down at Hercules and kissed his forehead gently as Hercules continued to massage the potion into the bruised and wounded skin.

"So what happened?" Hercules carefully asked, surprised that Aaron, despite his mood, seemed willing to share this. He was ultimately glad for it, but it was indeed a surprise to him.

"I went and asked for help. Now, don't be scared for me too much, I only asked the spirits and demons for help, nothing to worry so much about," Aaron said and assured as Hercules eyes widened anew. Aaron softly kissed the bridge of Hercules nose, right between his eyes, to reassure him.

"Wh-what sort of help did you ask those horrible creatures for?" Hercules asked, his hands on Aaron's neck trembling, though he dutifully continued to massage the potion into Aaron's skin. "And how did they hurt you with that siren's spirit you've got as a protector?"

"They managed to take my cloak away, and thus they took Nae from me as well. But that does not matter right now, I got it back in the end, as you can see. I asked them for help for... you will dislike it, I'm sure, but I asked their help for revenge," he explained and Hercules piped up. Indeed, he didn't like the idea, mainly because it could hurt Aaron as taking revenge, in his experience, would only lead to an endless cycle of revenge being taken for the revenge that had been taken before. No, he indeed didn't like the idea, but he listened to Aaron regardless.

"What revenge?" he asked, "Who are you taking revenge on?"

Aaron seemed relieved that Hercules didn't appear angry or disappointed or whatever Aaron had feared Hercules' reaction to be.

"Thomas."

"Wha- How would you- Aaron have you any idea what he could do to you?!" Hercules yelped in surprise.

"You forget, my heart, that I am quite the strategic one. I am aware that he could, if he so desired, wipe me off the face of this world, however, I am also aware that he will not desire so," Aaron grinned, mischief sparkling in his eyes. Goodness, Hercules had missed these eyes.

"How can you be so sure? I don't doubt you, by any means, but how are you so sure?" Hercules asked.

"He should be quite affected if I show my face, he won't be able to harm a hair on my head," Aaron grinned, granting Hercules a soft kiss on the lips.

"But- what is your plan?" he asked carefully as he pulled away from the kiss, getting lost in Aaron's eyes. "Wh-why did you need the help of those... spirits? And what have they done to you?"

"I don't want your mind to be troubled by this. Just know that the revenge shall be an eternal punishment, as he had given James. An eye for an eye, though not quite as literally as that. I won't take his eye, fitting as it may have been," Aaron explained, "And the spirits have provided me with a way to make his punishment eternal."

"This side of you scares me," Hercules admitted, "Not to any extreme point, certainly not to the point that I feel the express need to stop you, but... It does scare me."

"I never want to scare you, my heart," Aaron said quickly and kissed Hercules in gentle reassurance, "I debated whether or not to tell you until after it was done, but I am glad I told you now. I will take care of this after the next temple. As for what the spirits did to me..." he sighed as the potion on his skin began glowing, making the gashes and bruises disappear completely, "I demanded to see their physical form... they got a tad too excited about that, especially when I didn't appear frightened by their rotting skin, or the parasites and fungi they had for eyes and teeth, and the worms they had for intestines- really, they were basically just glorified corpses! I do wonder if they were the people who got lost in the Winding Woods in the first place... Alas, they merely got excited and a bit too physical with me. Of course, they quite intentionally hurt me, but they knew quite well not to harm me in a way I could not repair."

Hercules looked at him with worry, "And then? Why did they-"

"While they agreed to help me, I haven't quite the feeling that they particularly like me," Aaron sighed, lying down on the bed as Hercules followed him, "Where's James?"

"He said he'd be in the library. He was very anxious after we left you in the realm below. Are you-"

"I do not plan to tell him of my plan. I know too well he wouldn't let me do it. He would not be able to stop me, of course, but I rather not make him worry more than he already does," he sighed, pulling the covers over himself and Hercules, snuggling closer to him. "I'm knackered."

"Then we should sleep. I suspect James will spend the night in the library," Hercules mumbled as Aaron closed his eyes.

"I think something is bothering him... and it's not his eye..." Aaron replied.

"What do you mean?" Hercules asked, "He hasn't changed a bit?"

"Exactly. Before we confronted him, something was off about him, something was bothering him, and it's not gone. Not after the potion, not after the eye patch," Aaron grumbled and Hercules began to puzzle together what Aaron meant.

"So you're saying... Thomas hurting him wasn't what bothered him?" he asked and Aaron shook his head.

"It was one of the things... There's more. I can feel it. There's something nagging at him, eating away at his conscience. I can't even hope to make out what... But... I can't explain how I know this, I just feel it. Something's bothering him, and my mind is eating away at me to figure out what that thing is..." he grumbled.

"Do you... What's your guess?" Hercules asked but Aaron shook his head.

"I can't make an educated guess without... Well, I basically know nothing... I just know it must be something that either would directly affect us or something that had a harsh effect on him... Who knows, maybe both..." he sighed, "He's a secretive one, anxious and careful and much too cautious for it not to be something big... He kept going on about mistakes he's done... I have no doubt that's what's bothering him. If only I could figure out what these mistakes were... I could help."

"That's all you ever think of, love," Hercules smiled down at Aaron who let out a soft chuckle.

"What can I say? I know what it's like to be helpless..." Aaron shrugged with a yawn, "Less talkin' more sleepin'."

Hercules grinned and nodded, closing his eyes and letting sleep slowly guide him into a dream.

_He laughed at some joke he didn't hear, one arm around Alexander and the other around someone without a face. He was in a circle of nine people, himself and Alexander included, and all the others lacked a face as well until he found Lafayette, the god of Death also stood among them. He, Hercules and Alexander were the only ones with a face in this circle. This didn't perturb him in the slightest and they all continued to joke around and have a good time._

_"And remember when you tried to get --------'s attention and just threw a star at him? Oh, that was glorious!" Alexander laughed. Hercules couldn't make out the name Alexander said. One of the faceless people scoffed and huffed at him while another laughed with him._

_"Ms xxsp ls szfzuil tx zj oej oldiq rs nnm B wmq yvrz. Ogw M, ngclz hh brijbk zvx llbthztu lmee oijz gtbh 'Bm, vrbsg'm cbz vvgfw?-'," the laughing figure, dressed in bright colours giggled and got interrupted._

_"Tv, uub'm fexj av vila cbz wezc t img tt wofx, --------!" the figure in the red cloak pushed the other, though without any malice. The figure in a bright cloak laughed and grabbed the other around the waist, pulling them closer and into a kiss._

_"Oh, get yourself a room, you two!" Alexander laughed and Hercules snickered._

_"Just because you haven't found anyone!" Hercules laughed at Alexander who pouted and scoffed._

_"One day, Hercules, one day I'll have myself a love to cherish," Alexander said pointedly._

_"N vzmver hbzpk gbrhrr bwcr soxv sfzc lck rsh, bvrz kbml ltii zfbvofysi ydbkmg," another of those faceless figures, but one with green in their cloak._

_"Oh, you're one to talk, ---------! You could not make one fall for you in a thousand years before Lafayette takes'em away," Alexander grinned and stuck out his tongue. The god of Death did not much react._

Hercules shot up, rapidly blinking and looked around. There was sweat coating his skin and his breathing was hard. Confused, his brows furrowed and he put a hand to his forehead.

"What... was that?" he asked, unsure of himself. "I... had these before, I think?"

He finally sighed after some time of contemplating, musing and pondering and laid back down, pulling Aaron closer to himself into a soft cuddle, nuzzling into Aaron's head as he let sleep guide him into another dream.

_Hercules sat with Alexander and a faceless figure at a waterfall, snickering, giggling and shushing each other._

_"Tv, knwl bw ttbeg px ls ttcu!" the faceless figure, wearing a green cloak giggled excitedly._

_"Shush, you, you'll get us caught!" Alexander shushed them and Hercules grinned excitedly._

_"This is the entrance to the realm of the dead? Are you sure?" Hercules asked._

_"Plenty sure it's one of them. The waterfall and pond are the results of another of my pranks, you know. With --------" Alexander whispered. "Got your stuff?"_

_"Tt tuikli V ic! Z mcm tpy yvv xcmmia kfloh tgh ijuvzoueif n cwlskxh gmwj cckeh! Bm? Cy, oh titrffj zvtm saj cw zvxf mf xhzrz ykifm... Sy, g hkxeg bwknwg mlr yfziy," they shrugged and pulled out a bag full of rotten fruit and vegetables, looking inside. Hercules pulled out a bag of his own, as did Alexander._

_Together, they poured the contents of their bags, all rotten somethings, into the pond and watched them be sucked down and into the realm of the dead. They waited a moment in anticipation before they heard yelling come from the pond, followed by angry squawking and rustling and things being thrown over, people being cursed._

_They toppled over laughing before they heard the movement of the water and scattered, the angry god rushing after Alexander, knowing he was the main culprit. He was always the main culprit-_

Yet again, Hercules awoke, sweat on his skin even worse than before.

"What... Another? What was that? Who?" he asked silently, looking over at Aaron who was sleeping soundly but grasping forwards, looking for the warmth that had been there before but was now gone. Hercules couldn't help but smile down at him and discard the thoughts and questions about the dream he had, no matter how much they nagged at him. He lay down beside Aaron again, cuddling close again, letting himself fall asleep again, hoping sleep would guide him into a dream that would throw up fewer questions than the ones before. He had no such luck.

_"Bwcr mhn lrqd dk?" asked the faceless figure, dressed in a fiery red cloak._

_"Sure, pal, what's it that you need?" Hercules smiled at them and noticed a blush coating the faceless figure's cheeks, almost as red as their cloak._

_"N bvkr t umg tt ykzi pvvywem o ehzr ucvs thk --------. M jfbk nwf ms xscn ncp B jrjz wuf abq, V oijz rhg'x xscn ncp ms gjzc nwf trq N-... Dckolx, lrqd?" they asked and Hercules chuckled with a grin and a nod._

_"Of course! Wherefore am I the muse of Poetry, if not to inspire souls in love as yourself? Why, I remember, the very first poem I've inspired was one of love as well!" Hercules smiled reassuringly at the faceless figure, who sighed in relief._

_"N'jv hsxg xedwem ogw xedwem, pnm M pfb'k sodx mg xcltr ebor fbpzvbgk ttcu!" the faceless figure complained, bringing forth a small stack of papers, filled with poems that were crossed out and handing them over to Hercules who took a quick look at them. Hercules hummed in thought. It was true that the poems as such were not eye-catching, but each poem had at least one line he particularly liked._

_"There are some good lines here and there... you could try and collect the good lines and make something out of that, provided it makes sense as a whole," Hercules advised with a smile and snapped his fingers, a morphing spark coming forth from them and wandering to the faceless figure's forehead with speed and the faceless figure smiled gratefully at him after an enlightened light shone in their eyes._

_"Yvrty rhy ft, gf siva, Lrwqlrsl!" the faceless figure beamed and hugged Hercules tightly and Hercules grinned fondly in response, patting the figure on the back._

_"Yeah, that's my job. Now run along and write that down. The spark runs out quicker than you think," he smiled and chuckled as the faceless figure disappeared into the world._

And once more he awoke in cold sweat, confused about the dreams, confused why they made him feel so... uncomfortable and afraid.

He gulped, his throat was dry.

"I keep having those dreams again... When was the last time I had them? Five years ago maybe? I thought I was rid of them, finally..." he mumbled to himself, not noticing Aaron stirring beside him and slowly sitting up.

"This is the third time you jerked awake tonight, my heart. What's wrong?" Aaron mumbled sleepily and Hercules shook his head.

"I keep having these weird dreams... I have them again, I mean..." Hercules said, his breathing evening out slowly. "They're..."

"If you can't tell me yet, you don't have to, but know that I am here and I will listen, as you do for me," Aaron reassuring rubbed his hand over Hercules' back and placed a gentle and soft kiss onto his shoulder. Hercules smiled and turned his head to give Aaron a proper, loving kiss.

"I know... they're faceless figures..." he managed out, Aaron raising a brow, "And there's six of them... And Alexander and Lafayette... I have dreams where we all talk and have fun and do things together, but... I don't know why they make me jerk awake in cold sweat but... It freaks me out a bit..."

"Can you describe them? The figures I mean," Aaron asked and Hercules nodded.

"They had cloaks, all of them, even Alexander. All different colours, too. Uh, brown and green, blue, yellow or something really bright at least, red and... well black and dark purple and grey. When they talk, I only hear this... garbled nonsense, but I know exactly what they're saying, apparently, because I always respond. I don't know why, but seeing them makes me freak out," he explained and Aaron nodded.

"Memories maybe?" he supplied.

"But of what?" Hercules asked, weary and tired.

"Possibly of those dead gods," Aaron provided, "I mean, if Alexander and the god of Death was part of your dreams, that means there's a good chance you're reliving long forgotten memories of the dead gods. Can you remember any details?"

"N-no... I... but why do they freak me out so much then?" he asked, horribly confused.

"Well, maybe you feel that it's wrong to... 'remember' them? I mean, they're dead and the fact that you can't remember their voices or faces is a clear indicator that your mind still has memories of something occurring, but doesn't have the, uh, faces to fill the blanks with," Aaron tried, the fact that he was still half asleep not helping in making his point clearer. Despite that, Hercules understood and nodded.

"I see what you mean," he replied with a sigh. "Well... Alas, there's nothing either of us can do about this... Or do you happen to have-"

"I got a sleeping potion if that's what you mean. Dreamless, even, for six hours," Aaron interrupted, reaching under the bed and retrieved a light blue potion, glowing dimly. Hercules blinked in surprise. "Don't look at me like that, I told you about my nightmares, didn't I?" a pause, "Didn't I?"

"No, you did, don't worry. You take that so you sleep without the nightmares plaguing you?" he asked and Aaron nodded.

"And it helps a lot. Would you like half a glass?" Aaron smiled knowingly and Hercules nodded after a moment. Aaron then poured him half a glass full of the light blue potion to drink. "It takes effect after about five minutes," Aaron informed him then as Hercules took the potion from him and gulped the glass full down. The blue liquid ran down his throat smoothly with a cold touch and had a somewhat minty flavour to it. Aaron smiled at him and gently guided him to lie down on the bed with him, cuddling close to him and nuzzling into his chest, seeking the warmth that had before been taken from him. A smile came to his lips at the sound of Hercules' now steady heartbeat as it rung in his ears with a pleasant vibrating bass. Slowly, they both drifted off to sleep anew. This time, without any dreams or nightmares disturbing their peaceful rest as they softly snored away.

Sitting in the library, James read a book, though his mind was not quite there with him, instead within an entirely different world, as though he was dreaming, while he was just and merely fantasizing and reminiscing, adding to his memories some extra lines and words and exchanges, more interactions and more laughter and fun shared together in earnest, in an attempt to weave a story, a perfect tale, of love that conquered and beat and defeated all that would dare claim space within its way and attempt to separate them, a fight won against all odds and a happy ending that knew no end. With a sigh, he ripped himself back into the reality he lived him, dreadful and dull and unforgivingly cruel as it was, and tried to read at least one line from the book he was holding, only now realising, it was in a language he did not understand. With another sigh, he put the book aside and got up from where he sat, wandering through the library, made dark to simulate the night somewhat as most of the palace's occupants had gone to sleep until he found the doors that would lead him out.

As he wandered the halls of the palace, really, with no goal in mind, he let his mind, like his feet, wander around and lead him places he didn't tend to dare to on his own. But, inevitably, his thoughts led him back to Alexander. As much as he had gotten used to his mind wandering there, and enjoyed it to some degree, it also still hurt him, especially considering the reality of his situation. He had yet to tell them, Aaron and Hercules, of what he had done. He was sure they would hate him if he told them, but it was only fair, he knew.

It was only fair.

"It's only fair," he admitted out loud.

He nodded to himself. He would tell them. But when? he then pondered. He did not want to tell them at an ill or inopportune time, that would do no good. Would he calmly ask them to listen to his confession? Should he just blurt it out instead? No, absolutely not, he thought. Blurting it out like that would do him no good, at all. He really should just take them aside in a quiet moment and confess then. He didn't know quite when, though. Perhaps a time would present itself to him in the near future. Perhaps after they've been to the temple of light? He nodded to himself. That sounded like a solid plan. Sort of.

With a sigh and a yawn, he decided to head to bed, swiftly finding the door to the bedroom and sneaking into the bed, careful not to wake the lovers occupying the left half of it. The display of affection before him, Aaron and Hercules cuddled together like that, brought a fond smile to his face and he hoped, he sincerely hoped, that telling them would not break any of this. But he feared it would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't figured it out yet, the things the 'faceless figures' are saying in Hercules dreams are encoded with the Vigenére cipher and the key FORGOTTEN. Have fun!


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT HAS BEEN DONE! I finally figured out (thanks) how to put the amazing fanart cybersuzy created (well, one of them, the others I will use in the next chapters. For now, you may bask in the glory of this piece). It's at the end of the chapter, so you got something to look forward to!

Before anyone else could wake up the very next morning and ask, Aaron left the palace discreetly, even before the sun could rise from behind the horizon in the world below. He was glad that, no matter what, Thomas still had his duties with raising the sun across the sky. Dawn was almost upon the realm as Aaron, this time equipped with almost all of the artefacts to defend himself if need be, hushed into the Winding Woods. He breathed in slowly and steeled himself. His hood was on his head again and Nae, very offended that it had been so easily removed and made useless, had insisted to stitch some of its hair into the rest of Aaron's clothes, so that the previous incident may not occur again. It also insisted on staying most consciously around Aaron, so that it would never ever not protect him.

"I am not paid enough for this," Nae grumbled as Aaron hushed deeper into the woods, rolling his eyes at Nae's comment.

"I don't recall you being paid at all. If I recall correctly, this is you paying me back," Aaron scoffed exasperated.

"Must have been a mistake. You get into too much trouble. Too much, I say!" Nae scrunched its nose.

"Anything else you want to complain about?" he asked and Nae's blue glow flared up.

"Speaking of! I do not like the muse you share your bed and heart with-"

"What? Why would you dislike him?" his brows furrowed in honest confusion. The topic of Hercules did not occur that often between them, mainly because they were rarely alone these days and Nae seemed to dislike showing itself around the people Aaron considered close (or to anyone, really). He had been curious sometimes what Nae's opinion was on certain matters, but he rarely asked for them, knowing he'd be ranted at with a fury because Nae only seemed to share negative opinions with him.

"He is older than most civilisations. He is literally too old for you," Nae crossed its arms and Aaron stared at it in dumbfounded, flabbergasted disbelief. "And I do not trust him to keep you safe."

"Right, does that mean you dislike James as well?" he asked, raising a brow, trying to shake his flabbergasted disbelief off. Nae's strange reasoning was nothing new to him.

"No. I suppose I..." Nae paused to look for the right word to use, "Tolerate his presence. He does make an effort to keep you safe, however little it helps to actually, well, _keep you safe_ , with the way you run off into danger all the time without thinking, not a thought given to your well-being. It is almost as though you do not care about being harmed, or killed," Nae noticed, then regarded Aaron with an odd look, a suspicious glint in its eyes. "Do you?"

"I... Well... To some degree, I suppose... I don't suppose I care about being hurt... I don't want to be killed, by any means, I don't want to die just yet, but... I'm not sure, but, if I had to guess, my lack of caring about potentially being harmed occurred when I was really convinced at least you would keep any harm that may come to me at an absolute minimum- for which I am grateful for, by the way," he explained with a sigh. Nae was left in a surprised silence, then a smile played on its lips.

"Well, I guess I can at least see why Hercules would have fallen for you. But I cannot fathom why you fell for him. Honestly, I am baffled that you two have not had the reason to split yet. Both of you are riddled with insecurities, many problems, not to mention the huge gap in life experience, given the age difference" Nae listed and Aaron laughed.

"Yeah, two messes that, somehow, make... less of a mess together," Aaron smiled and heard Nae sigh, but with a fond smile.

"You love him," Nae chuckled.

"Goodness, I do," he sighed, "So much."

For a bit, they were both quiet, wandering deeper into the woods where the spirits and demons had agreed to meet him to give him what he had asked for. He had paid the price already. He nervously clutched at the tornado staff, then let his hands wander over the other artefacts, surprisingly fitting quite nicely under his cloak. The sickle hung at his side, the hand gripping Aaron's belt so it would not fall down. He let his hand brush over it, feeling the symbol of the spell on the handle. The shovel on his back was right beside the tornado staff and the umbrella, while the gauntlets were on his left side attached to his belt, hanging off. He had contemplated before leaving to simply put them on and saving himself the hassle of letting them hang there and hit against his leg with every second step, but as he walked, he found he hardly noticed them, nor any of the other artefacts he carried around. Could that be a side effect of Alexander's cloak? he wondered, but could not come to a sound conclusion just yet, so he dropped the thought.

"What do you think Alexander would think about everything that happened in your life without him?" Nae asked, "You and that muse finding each other. And especially about James. They were not quite on good terms before his - what was it? - depression? He would not know how much change James has undergone, and I feel as though Alexander, from what you've told me, would hold bitter feelings for a while. How would he react, it makes me wonder when he'll find out you've befriended him?"

"I... I'm not sure?" the question had Aaron stumped a bit, "I mean... I know Alexander would trust me, I think. He would trust my judgement. James has changed, for the better, I think, and has been through a lot. Perhaps I'll have to convince him of this change and show him, but... I bet he will, someday at least, be able to trust him, like I've grown to."

"How sure are you?" Nae asked then, not in a way that said it didn't believe or trust Aaron, but with simple curiosity.

"As sure as I am, in this very moment, currently alive," he assured with confidence.

"Yes, you're quite sure then. Soothing to know. Say, when will we arrive at the spot these ghastly spirits demanded we meet them at?" Nae nodded and asked and Aaron did a quick gaze around, confirming where he was with a nod.

"Over there," he pointed to a clearing that was no hundred feet away. Nae raised a brow (not really a brow, since it had none) and huffed.

"There's a ring on the ground. That's a trap," it commented in a mumble, as if to itself, and Aaron nodded, seeing the ring of mushrooms on the ground in the smack middle of the clearing which was very circular in shape. Nothing too special, so he shrugged and stepped into the clearing, especially since he felt no threatening... presence within the clearing, which was soothing in and of itself, as the spirits, which he quite clearly felt, did not pose a threatening presence either. He faintly spotted the shadows of the spirits lingering around the circle of mushrooms, not giving him a single look to acknowledge his presence. Finally, Aaron spoke up.

"Got what I asked for?" he asked, loud enough for the spirits to notice him. The shadows stood- floated there, looking at him, grinning widely, sharp, rotting teeth on full proud display and a mischievous glint in their eyes that reminded him of when Alexander would plan very malicious pranks with him. He rolled his eyes at their attempts to appear in any way threatening. They had done their damage to him before, and he was quite equipped and prepared to handle them now, so he remained unimpressed.

_Just in time, you spiteful creature-_

"Out of my head, now." he hissed and the spirits snickered around him, grabbing at him, while being oddly gentle about it, and pulling him closer to the centre of the clearing, to the mushroom ring. Nae eyed them all with a suspicious glare, teeth bared dangerously at them should they try anything violent, though Aaron, strangely, wasn't the least bit worried. They brought him closer to the ring of mushrooms, where, suddenly, something appeared in the middle of it. He couldn't make out what it was, it was blurry, but turned much clearer the more he looked at it.

It was... somewhat humanoid, but not quite close. A bit like a puppet, at least the face, the head. The head looked completely human, except for the completely white eyes and that it would fit better as the head of a big puppet than the neck of a human. The body, chest and stomach. if one could even call it that, was a contorted mess of colourful yarn in knots and branches, squirming and twisting around in a sickening fashion. The arms were like long, long tails that had claws attached to them, as were the legs, all of them grey and ragged and with thorns on the side.

It looked oddly at Aaron, and he looked over at Nae, who had its claws slapped over its mouth with a shocked look in its eyes. He threw a questioning look at the shadows of the spirits around him, but they kept their eyes to the creature.

"What is that?" he wanted to ask, but no sound dared past his lips, he was silenced completely. The creature, whatever it was, directed its empty gaze at him, and its white eyes began glowing, sucking the light out of the clearing, pulling Aaron into the darkness, only illuminated by its white glowing empty eyes.

Everything else disappeared, leaving only Aaron and the creature in... wherever this dark place was. A wandering thought amused him for a moment by saying James might have enjoyed the darkness, but was swiftly reminded by himself in James' voice that James did not, in fact, enjoy the darkness, at all. Aaron then wondered for an even briefer moment if there ever had been a time in which James had not disliked the darkness. He made a mental note to consider asking James about it.

The creature regarded him for a moment, before smiling, showing that, what would have been its teeth, were only strings of yarn, like they had been cut or torn open, like they were supposed to keep the mouth closed and shut, but failed.

_Where you stand... life tends to end..._  
And every bone does end up bent...  
And every heart in reach does break...  
And every heart in reach does ache...  
For hair that's made of dying grass.  
That skin that's made of rusting brass.  
Those teeth past which slip words of bite.  
Those eyes so scarred by thousand frights.  
Hands skilled in so many an art,  
Loyal to those who hold your heart.  
Loathing him, who, in all, he lacks,  
Fight for the breeze to have your back.  
You've travelled so far, through many a land  
And soon Fate's work will be in your hands... 

It sang. Its voice eerie, moaning and groaning, as if what it sung, or that it sang at all, caused it pain. It gasped and retched loudly as it finished.

"Wh-what _are_ you?" he gasped.

The creature, or thing, he didn't know, didn't answer. It slumped over like a marionette with cut strings, its eyes closing as did its mouth, and light returned to Aaron's world.

The spirits around him snickered at his surprise and confusion.

"What was that!" he demanded over the malicious laughter of the spirits. Nae gasped at him. He almost forgot it was there. As he turned to the circle of mushrooms again, the creature, or thing, had disappeared.

"The Oracle!" Nae gasped.

"The... Oracle?" Aaron asked, "I don't think I've ever heard of something like that?"

"It's... word is, the oracle was... cut out of the fabric of the goddess of Fate's loom by another god playing a prank on her. The goddess of Fate attempted to capture the oracle again with the help of the god that pranked her. The first way to catch it was to lure it into a body, which it desperately wanted, and it worked at first, as she caught it in a doll and sewed the oracles yarn into the head, but she could only do that before the oracle escaped again. The other tries gave it claws and got it stuck in several trees. But it always escaped," Nae explained. Aaron hummed, then turned to the spirits.

"Why was it here?" he asked.

_Se brought it here... it heard a vision of you some time ago... it was told you'd be here..._

"Who is Se?" he asked.

"One of them," Nae answered for them. "Se is a spirit like them, but it has a name, unlike them. A bit of an outcast, but not quite. Spirits aren't all that friendly with each other in the first place, with only certain exceptions. Nothing to mention. But what did the oracle tell you?"

"It..." he called upon the memory, struggling to remember particular things about this encounter, "It described me at first, I think... Something about hair made of dying grass and so forth... but the very last thing it said... 'And soon Fate's work will be in your hands'... What could it have meant with that?"

"Fate's work... I don't hope... Never mind, we came here for another reason, did we not?" Nae shook its head and Aaron nodded in response, turning to the spirits who were still cackling away.

"Now, I hope you have now what I asked for," he said, quite impatient in his tone and voice and the spirits huffed at him.

_Such a pitiful creature you are. Not a thought given about the blessing you have just received!_

"You sound awfully offended for not having a moral code concerning anything yourself," Aaron quipped with half a scoff. "What I've been, let's call it prophesized is nothing of note to me."

_The oracle doesn't simply-_

"I don't care what the oracle simply does or simply doesn't. Not my concern this very moment. Have you got what I asked you to get?" he spat and the spirits hissed at him, loudly. He remained unimpressed by their antics, rolling his eyes. "Right, if this is how you want to act, that's fine. I shall just take my leave th-"

_STAY!_

"Goodness, I don't know whether I prefer your screams in reality to the screaming in my head!" he exclaimed with a growl.

_We have the crown..._

"Lovely," he hissed, "Now, would you kindly hand it over?"

The spirits were quiet for a moment, then an array of scoffs and huffs, all clearly in reality, permeated through the air. Reluctantly, though he could not see it, he felt their reluctance, they disappeared for a moment, all of them, for a moment. A split second after, one, merely one of them, reappeared, a shadow of it. Aaron felt its presence, distinctly, especially the item that it was holding.

The shadow of the spirit held out a crown made of branches, twigs and sticks, some thorns thrown in-between.

_Some of us, for some of you, as agreed._

Aaron nodded. Some of him, for some of them, as agreed. Some of the spirits, he was unaware of how the choosing process had worked for them, though he could figure by this more than icy tone in the spirit's voice that it was likely not an easy, nor pleasant choice to have been made. The spirit growled at him, something that startled him, a glint of confusion in his eyes.

The spirit made manifested and Aaron saw why it acted so strangely hostile. It was barely rotten, barely like the other spirits.

"New," Aaron stated. A simple fact. "Today?"

_You don't care. You are cruel, you do not care, about anything but yourself. You hurt and have anyone hurt just to get what you so selfishly want!_

Nae hissed at the spirit.

"Look at what they've turned you into," Nae growled, "One of them, just as despicable. Just as desperate and hungry."

_You don't know what we are._

"You do then?" Nae hissed and startled the new spirit. "You've barely died today. Who were you?"

The spirit did not answer. Instead, it remained contemplatively quiet. Finally, it held out the Winding Crown in its hand more violently, urging Aaron to take it and leave. Aaron had a feeling, he thought amused, that he wasn't very liked in this spot in the world. Another one for the journal, he thought. After a moment quietly regarding the spirit, Aaron took the crown, feeling, quite distinctly, the haunting spirits trapped inside, swirling and squirming and contorting. He smiled. The new spirit sneered.

_I pity you._

"Don't bother," Aaron chuckled, "I do enough of that on my own for us both."

_Leave._

"I wasn't planning on becoming one of you creatures," he nodded. "Enjoy feeling pity. The ability will leave you soon." He decided to leave using the shorter route. With a small hop, he soared up into the sky, leaving the Winding Woods behind, down below, as he kept his head high.

There was a light, weak breeze, a sort of comfort, strangely, for Aaron. Alexander was alive, he felt it. He wanted to see him, hold him, find out why he had disappeared, hold him close and tell him all would be alright again.

He stepped over the line to the realm of gods, discreetly passing the gate, he only now noticed that the sun had barely moved from its spot in the sky, barely over the horizon. He looked down onto his hand, where the crown made of branches and twigs from the Winding Woods that would ensure an eternal punishment. The twigs and branches were winding into each other, thorns poking out here and there. He felt the spirits trapped inside and wondered anew how they had chosen who to put inside. He shook his head with a sigh and continued on to the palace. He banished all thoughts that kept him occupied in a way that would distract him from his goals.

He snuck into the palace, into the bedroom, finding Hercules wide awake, sitting on the bed, as James was snoring quietly beside him. Hercules' back was to Aaron and he held his head in his hands.

"You're back..." Hercules commented and Aaron noticed, though Hercules couldn't see this, and sighed. "Well... do you..." he looked behind himself to James' sleeping frame, then at Aaron, "Do you?"

"Yes."

"Good, good..." Hercules nodded, turning back around.

"You're not happy about this, are you."

A pause.

"I'm scared for you. I won't stop you, but..."

"Doubts."

"Many," he nodded.

"Me too," he lied.

"Please, don't try to make me feel better. You don't have doubts," Hercules sighed. "You never do... And I admire that. I admire that you stand by your principles, stand your ground, unwavering, that you never have a shred of doubt about what you do... I just don't know how... I don't even know what I'm trying to say... I guess I'm just scared for you, but that's not all. At least, I don't think it is..."

"You're right," Aaron nodded, approaching Hercules, sitting down beside him in silence.

Neither of them said a word for the next hour or so, quietly enjoying the presence of the other, the mere presence somehow assuring the other. Assuring them of what, they did not know, but it was a pleasant notion nonetheless. Aaron had put his head on Hercules' shoulder, slowly reaching up and lifting the hood off his face, revealing himself unobscured. It was still an unpleasant feeling, having the hood off that had guaranteed him safety for so long, but he wanted it off in this very moment, with Hercules so close to him. He knew he was safe here, especially as Hercules put his arms around Aaron, Aaron knew he was safe, and he felt it, too.

"Promise me you won't get hurt," Hercules mumbled.

"Won't you insist to coming with me?" Aaron smiled up at him and Hercules kissed his forehead.

"I know you won't let me," Hercules chuckled, "For as much trouble as you insist on getting into, you do everything in your power to keep me out of it as much as possible. A hypocrite is you, my love."

Aaron laughed softly.

"You've found me out, my heart. A hypocrite is I, one of my many flaws you once claimed you loved me for, not despite," Aaron chuckled.

"And I do, love, I do... Shall we wake James?" he asked and Aaron hummed in response.

"I suppose we could, though it is still rather early," Aaron commented and didn't feel the body stirring behind them.

"Any exhaustion from yesterday has left, thankfully, but I could not go back to sleep no matter how I'd try," Hercules hummed in return.

"Morning..." James mumbled behind them, startling them.

"Good morning, James. Slept well?" Aaron asked, careful to keep the winding crown in his hands away from James' field of view. James nodded, not answering for a moment.

"How long have you two been awake for?" James then asked.

"Some time. I couldn't fall asleep again," Hercules smiled and Aaron nodded.

A moment of silence passed through the room as James opened and closed his mouth, indecisively, trying to formulate words. Aaron could see some of the concern on his face, an inner conflict, he wondered. Finally, James shut his mouth and sat up. Aaron got up from where he was sitting and quickly hid the crown under his cloak, hiding it away from James' view and pulling his hood back over his head.

"Now, should we seize the day then?" Aaron smiled enthusiastically and Hercules chuckled at this enthusiasm he adored so much in his lover, getting up from the bed as well, inclining James to follow the movements and get up as well. James secured the eyepatch over his eye, self-conscious about the scars.

"I suppose that's one way to spend the day, then!" Hercules grinned, sharing in Aaron's enthusiasm. James snorted at their collective enthusiasm.

He realised none of the plans and thoughts running around in Aaron's head. Plans running around in a circle, frenzied, as if on fire.

Together, like most times these days, they left the palace and the realm of the gods for the realm below. They travelled downwards onto the ground before James thought to ask where they even had to go to. Aaron responded with a grin, saying that they would need to go to the valley where the sun rests in at the end of the day, where the sun has never not shone upon. James nodded, he knew exactly where that valley was. Back when he and Thomas were on more favourable terms with each other they had tended to meet there for a few minutes before James would have to tend to his own duties, or when they would both put a steady spell on the celestial bodies so they moved on their own allowing them to attend some festival or other. Great! Aaron grinned in response, urging James to lead the way.

So James did. The sun was halfway to the middle of the sky, so James followed where it would have been, where Thomas had raised it from into the sky.

It took some hours, filled on their part with some silence, some travelling songs that only Aaron knew, some conversations held about the past, Hercules and James being urged to share some funny stories with Aaron, before they arrived where they desired to be that very day.

The valley where the sun never sets, where night has never kissed the ground. They didn't know what they'd expected. At least, Aaron and Hercules didn't. James thought he did. There was nothing there. No life. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Everything was burned to a crisp.

Aaron blinked in startled confusion.

"This... what happened here?" he asked

"Goodness," James gasped, "He burned the entire land down to the ground. There's nothing here! Aaron, are you sure the temple of light is here?"

"What if he burned that down, too?" Hercules asked and Aaron shook his head.

"That couldn't have been so easy. James, do you even remember any sort of building being here?" he asked in return and James shook his head.

"As often as I was here, there had never been a building of any sort. Nothing even remotely like a temple," he answered truthfully, though he began questioning his own memory.

"Then it's hidden?" Hercules guessed and Aaron nodded. "Has to be, right?"

"'While darkness reveals what light cannot, the light reveals that what it ought. While light reveals that what you seek, the dark reveals that what you need'," Aaron mumbled to himself.

"What did you say?" James asked and Aaron repeated.

"'While darkness reveals what light cannot, the light reveals that what it ought. While light reveals that what you seek, the dark reveals that what you need'. It's what was written on the walls in the temple of darkness, remember?" he replied, "It was a hint to find what we needed in the temple. I was just wondering if it could also be a hint as to how to find this temple... The dark reveals what we need. Alright, it's a formula."

Aaron stepped forward and held out his hands, performing the spell of 'Snuffing out the light' (for some reason the name of the spell amused him) and the entire valley suddenly became pitch-black dark. James yelped at the suddenness at which the world around them dropped into darkness and quickly clung to Hercules' arm, startled. Hercules let out a soft snort, though the sudden drop into darkness had surprised him, too.

"Aaron? Wh-what now?" he asked, suddenly worried as he couldn't see Aaron before him.

"Light," Aaron breathed, not hearing Hercules, somehow, "Light."

"What?" James asked and Aaron blinked, though it did nothing against the darkness.

"There," he said, almost lifting his arm to point, until, with half a laugh, he realized they wouldn't be able to see where he pointed to, "There's light over there. It's white... like the paint in the temple of darkness. Like the moon. Do you see it?"

James and Hercules followed Aaron's voice until Hercules' hand found Aaron's back and he sighed in relief, looking to where Aaron must be looking to. Indeed, he saw something glowing a bit in the distance, perhaps sixty feet away. James saw it, too. It looked like a puddle of light on the ground, especially as they came closer, but then they saw that it was in the shape of a square. Aaron nodded to himself, unseen by his companions. He squatted down, putting his hands on the glowing square on the ground. There was sand, lots of it was around them, and he brushed it away from the ground. It was a thick layer of sand, but he knew that there had to be something underneath it. There had to.

And he was right.

There was a trap door right underneath the layers of sand and he grinned to himself. The trap door was made of some sort of stone, but he didn't recognize it. It wasn't the same sort of stone that the other temples were made of, he was sure. Then again, what did he know about these things? He looked for a way to get it to open, but he found to latch, no dent, no nothing. He grumbled and pushed at the door, but it wouldn't budge. Probably didn't open to the inside. He grumbled more and stood back up, stretching out his hands to the ground and performed the spell of 'Moving Mountains' at the trap door, but concentrated hard, trying not to break anything below the trap door.

The trap door exploded.

<#img src="src="[](http://s1347.photobucket.com/user/Manolo_Bancilhon/media/ForgWors_zpsno3mzg2i.jpg.html)" align="center" border="0" />

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaron, honey, you don't know your strength, sweetie, be more careful, Nae already complains so much about how you keep getting yourself into trouble!
> 
> Unrelated, but also related: I think I should edit the tags and rewrite the summary of the fic. I just don't like it, but until I can come up with something that doesn't suck as much, I (and subsequently you, I'm sorry) have to look at that summary and cringe and groan. Groan.
> 
> Again, I want to thank cybersuzy for their amazing fanart (honestly, I'm in tears everytime I look at it), and I feel so blessed. That's the highest compliment I could ever have been given AND IT'S SO FUCKING GOOD I AM STILL CRYING WHENEVER I LOOK AT IT GOSH DARN IT!!


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that I didn't get anything out the past, what, two weeks? three? I have reasons, I swear. The past two weeks were super stressful, what with trying to learn my lines for the play we were putting on (Twelfth Night, I played Feste, the Fool), while studying for math and biology exams, one of which I had the day of the play, and biology the day after it. Quite stressful, BUT at least I got something out now! Yay? Yay! Also, thank fuck this arc is over!

Aaron yelped and jumped back, nearly dodging the pieces of rock being flung around, Nae manifesting around him and holding back the other pieces from hitting him and they fell to the ground with an unsatisfying thump as it blocked the rocks. Hercules and James opted for jumping behind Aaron as the trap door exploded, knowing that Nae would consequently, although not consciously, protect them as well.

Nae glowed with an angry blue at the sudden hole in the ground, its sour expression a direct contrast to Aaron's giddy grin. As soon as all the rocks had fallen to the ground, he jumped to his feet again and rushed to the opened door, gazing into the darkness inside. It was pitch-black inside and he could not see a thing no matter how much he strained his eyes. Curiously, even as Nae approached the entrance, the darkness inside would not be illuminated by its blue glow, which had softened at Aaron's excitement. Aaron hummed, getting out the moon amulet and shining it down into the entrance, yielding the same result, it stayed as dark as before. Aaron hummed, he was even more intrigued now. He grabbed for Hercules' hand, who was also holding onto James to not get lost and dragged them down the stairs with him, almost stumbling down in his excitement.

James yelped as the darkness completely and utterly enveloped them in a thick blanket. He grew uncomfortable in this thick darkness, there seemed to be no way to break the darkness, no hope at all. It made him uncomfortable. He clung closer to Hercules, his grip on his hand tightening a bit, not too much, he didn't want Hercules to notice. Hercules was a touch too preoccupied with Aaron's giddy excitement as he dragged them down the stairs. He wasn't sure, but it felt as though they weren't simply stumbling down a small flight of stairs. Only as this continued on for two more minutes did he finally open his mouth.

"Something isn't right," he noted as Aaron finally grew frustrated as well and stopped. Aaron grumbled.

"Yeah, this reeks of something being not right," Aaron nodded with a scowl, his excitement, while not gone, overshadowed by his suspicion.

"What's going on?" James asked.

"Nae, are you doing anything?" Aaron asked.

"No, I don't need to do anything," Nae replied with confusion in its voice, "Why?"

"So, I'm still breathing without a problem... You know, I don't think we've moved at all, or at least not by much," Aaron grumbled as he let go of Hercules' hand and touched along the walls. "The stairs are steep, they'd lead downwards quickly. If we had moved down by as much as we should have... then the air would have gotten scarce, especially since that trap door hasn't been opened in forever!"

Hercules and James were silent, in awe and surprise, taking in what Aaron had just said. Hercules slowly nodded.

"You're right," he noted, "If we had moved as much as we should have, then you would have trouble breathing."

"But what now?" James asked, scowling at the darkness around him, "If we can't move forward... does that mean we also can't go back?"

"Who knows. Right now, I wanna move forwards. There has to be a wa-" he halted as his fingers brushed over a ridge in the wall. Its shape felt so familiar. He pictured the ridge in his mind. A line here, a line there, it took shape within his mind. It was Qjuanjoith. He felt along the walls a bit more, finding more of those ridges, more Qjuanjoith, and it made sense in his head, words, sentences. He took careful note of them, stringing them together in his head with careful precision. It was a story, but it was odd. It wasn't about the god of light, it was different. It was a story about a creature, the name of it was unfamiliar to him, that carried mirrors everywhere, stealing the face of anyone that looked into any of the mirrors. It carried mirrors to hide from the light as well, as light could easily kill it. The signs for the word mirror was repeated many times, but always with a slight variation in meaning. Oddly enough, Qjuanjoith had many, many words for 'mirror'. Each one with a different meaning, for a different context, and it was very odd that this story used each one of them. Each of the twenty, with the eight core meanings, used exactly twice each. Surprisingly, the meanings for a mirror in a tricking and/or mischief context were only used once. Mirrors.

He hummed in thought.

"Mirrors..." he mumbled.

"What? What about mirrors?" James asked.

"There's a story written on the wall here. About a creature carrying mirrors around and stealing the face of the people that look into it. I don't see what this got to do with anything, but... there are about twenty different ways of writing the word 'mirror' in this language... and this story manages to use every single one of them. So there is something about mirrors, there has to be. Think, you two, think: why mirrors? Mirrors..." Aaron grumbled in loud thought.

"Uh, mirrors can be used to... trick? I think I've seen people use them in tricks for entertainment. I'm not sure..." James hummed.

"Tricks... temple of light... trick of the light?" Hercules guessed. Aaron's head piped up.

"That could be it! But how would that help us here... what does it m-" he halted, an idea hitting him. "Stay still," he instructed.

Hercules and James nodded and kept completely still as ordered as Aaron moved forwards, brushing his hands across the wall. His fingers brushed over the ridges of the story, but the further he moved, he noticed how he never moved past the very beginning of the story. Then he halted and turned around.

"Hercules, James?" he called out.

"Love, did you move forward?" Hercules called back, much further up than he should be.

"Well, I certainly moved. On the spot, that is. As I moved, so did the stairs," he concluded.

"Moving stairs?" James asked, surprised, then furrowed his brows, "That's got nothing to do with mirrors, though..."

Aaron nodded at James' remark and turned back around. He felt along the other wall, finding a loose stone. A delighted smile hushed to his lips as he wiggled the stone free. He felt it in his hands, noted that it was about twice as big as his fist. He hummed and turned. He threw the rock, with all the power he had, into the darkness below.

A crash, a jumble of glass crashing, breaking, soaring to the ground, echoed through the hall as suddenly, a beam of light, tore through the darkness, blinding Aaron, Hercules and James momentarily. Aaron pulled the hood over his face completely, shielding his eyes from the blinding light. A few moments and a lot of blinking later, he dared to look down the rest of the stairs. He let out a delighted squeak as he saw the bottom of the stairs not too far away. He looked at the shards on the ground, it had been a mirror.

"Jackpot," Aaron grinned and jumped over the shards, flying down the rest of the stairs, not waiting for Hercules or James to catch up in his excitement.

When they did catch up, they found themselves in a circular room, the walls made of mirrors. Everything was utterly bright, though there was, strangely enough, no light source to be seen anywhere. Aaron was already in the middle of the room, standing at a pedestal over a book, flipping through it.

"Ah, this is a plan for the temple!" Aaron exclaimed with interest.

"A plan?" Hercules asked.

"A floor plan, sort of. This is where we should be, if I'm not mistaken," Aaron pointed at the map in the book. It made no sense to Hercules, the lines ending in each other in an orderly mess confused him. He trusted Aaron to know what he was looking at and how to use it.

"Where's the artefact then?" James asked, looking over James' shoulder to look at the map.

Aaron hummed as he scanned the map, then flipped the page, and flipped it again with another hum.

"Not on this floor... there's something ahead... Not sure what it is..." Aaron replied. James' eyes furrowed in confusion at the 'map' Aaron was reading. The lines made no sense to him, and he had no idea how Aaron was able to read this 'map'.

"So, what's the spell? How's it go?" Hercules asked.

Aaron flipped through the book, to the end of it, scanning the last pages carefully. He smiled as he found the smell.

"Here it is!" he grinned, pointing to the page. "Piercing The Darkness. Lovely."

"Right to the point, I like it," James mused with a nod.

Aaron placed the book back onto the pedestal and stretched out his hands again. The movement for the spell was quite simply the reverse of the spell of Snuffing Out The Light, and he mastered the movement quickly, it was rather simple. He looked up from the book, looking around the room, only seeing the mirrors and their images in them. His mind went back to the story of that creature that stole your face if you looked into its mirror. He grew uncomfortable at the thought, but he tried to set himself at ease and pulled the hood further over his face. He hoped if such a creature still existed today and nearby it would not be able to steal his face.

As he looked through the room, he noticed something wasn't quite right with one of the mirrors. It looked... off, somehow. He stared intently at it, trying to figure out why it looked wrong to him. Hercules noticed him staring at the mirror and moved closer, trying to find what he was staring at. Aaron saw Hercules moving closer to him in his peripheral vision but startled when Hercules' mirror image moved a mere second later. He perked up with a grin.

"What are you staring at, love?" Hercules asked.

"Not sure, but I might have found something... Close your eyes and duck, if you would." Aaron's smile was soft, yet left no room to argue what he instructed and so James and Hercules did as told, though hesitantly, and ducked behind Aaron with their eyes closed.

They didn't see what Aaron did, but when they had opened their eyes again, as per Aaron's instructions, all the mirrors in the room were broken, and there was a dark hallway where Aaron had previously stared at. There was also a small pile of ashes on the ground.

"What happened?" James asked, a sense of fright nesting into his stomach.

"Refler," he said like it explained anything to anyone. "Steals faces with mirrors. Killed by light."

"Succinct," James remarked and Aaron smiled, "So, I'm guessing this is the way we ought to go?"

Aaron simply nodded excitedly and jumped into the hallway, disappearing into the darkness. There was a surge of light, and suddenly, the entire hallway was illuminated. James and Hercules quickly followed, finding Aaron in the middle of a hallway made of broken mirrors.

"Did you break these mirrors, love?" Hercules asked, concerned.

"No, there were broken before. I'm just seeing if I can find something around here. Another Refler maybe," Aaron explained.

"How do you know the name of these creatures?" James then asked as they caught up to where Aaron was inspecting, and further breaking, a mirror.

"I remembered I read about something like them in Alexander's library. Their name was longer than Refler. But if I remember correctly, the short version 'Refler' is acceptable," Aaron explained, then shrugged and abandoned the mirror he was inspecting, continuing walking down the hallway. He did not feel the presence of anything behind any of these mirrors. Perhaps that Refler that had been behind that mirror before had been the last one in the temple, perhaps had been the only one, to begin with, or perhaps it had been the last of its kind, in which case he had put it out of its lonely misery. He shrugged as he continued walking, keeping an eye out for anything else that might be here. The hallway soon came to an end. The room behind it was somewhat dim, not entirely dark, but not too bright either.

Aaron raised a brow as he entered the circular room. It had another pedestal in the smack middle of it. Aaron was surprised at how easily this room was accessible. He remembered the temples before where the obstacle to getting to this room had been a tad bigger than this. A simple mirror broken. He was surprised at this. No mountain to move, no lava fall to pass, no poison gas to remove, no water to part. A simple mirror to break. Perhaps, he thought, the god of light did not approve of anything too difficult to overcome. He shrugged as he reached the pedestal, finding standing atop it a lantern, partially covered by a piece of red fabric. The light from the lantern shone through the fabric, creating the dim red tone of the room. He picked it up and gently lifted the fabric from the lantern, almost dropping the lantern as the light's intensity increased tenfold and temporarily blinded him. He yelped and threw the fabric back over the lantern, dimming its light.

He huffed and blinked, there were colourful spots in his vision and he tried to blink them away. His eyes hurt and he grumbled.

"Are you alright?" James asked, concern coating his voice.

"I'm alright. I don't know why I didn't expect this to be as bright as it is. Though, along with the shovel from the first temple, this artefact is the most thematically fitting of them all," he said, looking at the artefact in his hands with an unreadable expression. He looked up, let his gaze wander around the room. He found there was no more written on the walls. No inscriptions, no text, no directions for another temple. "This is the last one..."

"Last one?" Hercules asked and Aaron nodded.

"No further directions to any other temple... so there were only eight of these... These ancient temples, of ancient gods..." Aaron muttered to himself.

"I wonder who they were?" Hercules wondered.

"I've got a theory. I'll study the diary later for more clues. Maybe I'm wrong. Let's go," Aaron replied, tucking the lantern and fabric under his cloak.

"Already?" James asked in surprise.

"Well, there's nothing left here for us to discover. Nothing left to learn... We should go, then," Aaron simply said, mood a tad sour. Hercules and James, noticing this change in mood, nodded hesitantly at him and followed him as he led the way back out of the temple, passing the broken mirrors in the hallway, the book with the spell and the moving stairs. James attention was captured by the writing on the wall and he fell behind. Then, Aaron and Hercules were out of the temple, back in the darkness Aaron had created. Aaron performed the spell of Piercing The Darkness, and suddenly, everything was bright again.

Aaron did not move, his head up, staring into the sky. Hercules followed his gaze, finding it hit the sun directly. Suddenly, he spotted Aaron tensing, his fists at his sides trembling in anger. Hercules gulped. He knew what Aaron would say to them the moment he snapped back into reality. He decided to move it ahead. He gently put his hand on Aaron's shoulder, snapping him out if his internal rage fit. Aaron looked at him with surprise and confusion for a moment, before his brain caught up with his current reality.

"I have to go," he said and Hercules nodded.

"I know... Better make it quick. James'll worry," Hercules said, quietly.

"Not sure how quick I can make it... He has another thing coming," Aaron growled.

"Put an extra punch in there for me, love," Hercules chuckled.

"Will do. I'll be off then. Don't wait up. I'll meet you back home," he said and disappeared up into the sky, making a direct bee-line for the sun.

In that very moment, James exited the temple as well, looking around confused when he could only see Hercules and there was no trace of Aaron left. He walked over to Hercules, who had his back turned to him.

"Where's Aaron?" he asked, sudden panic overtaking him.

"Don't worry, he'll be back before long. He said he'll meet us back home. Wanna go the long way?" Hercules replied with a fond yet exasperated smile.

"I mean..." James stopped. This put a bit of a damper on his plans, at the very least a serious delay. He had wanted to tell them, both at the same time after they were done with this very temple. He hoped Aaron would not take too much time, he wanted, desperately wanted to tell him specifically. He needed to tell him. He had a feeling, a dreadful feeling, that he would not get to tell him at all if he didn't get to tell him soon. The thought terrified him. Irrational, he tried to calm himself down, this thought was irrational. He would get to make good. He would get to redeem himself, fix his mistakes. "Alright," he then agreed, "What's the long way?"

"That way. Past the Hills, Sapphire Sea, and at the very last the Pond to the realm of the dead. It's the scenic route," Hercules grinned, sensing James' panic and trying to distract him. James sighed.

"Alright... I suppose if we haven't anything... _better_ to do, we could do that..." he reluctantly agreed with half a grumble. "Wait, did you just call passing the realm of the dead _scenic_?"

This made Hercules halt awkwardly.

"Um..."

"Aaron had a bit of an influence on you, I see," James snorted.

"Goodness, I think he had," Hercules laughed, "My views on things have changed so much with him around me."

"Things have changed a lot, it seems," James remarked.

"You've changed a lot, too," Hercules noted with a smile, "You've done lots of good during your time with us."

"Not as much before, though..." he chuckled, "What's with Aaron and changing immortal beings?"

"Come on, you've changed. We can all tell how much effort you're putting into being better than you were. And honestly? It's great that Aaron brought that want to change out in you. We all need something in our life that makes us want to change for the better," Hercules smiled and patted James on the back.

"What an odd mortal..." James snorted.

"Ah, but we love him," Hercules grinned.

"You love him..." James corrected.

"Romantically, but you still like him in your own way, I know it," Hercules shrugged and James eventually nodded.

"Well, I never denied that. I just... don't think that I can really say it's in the same league as what you feel, at all. Especially considering the fact that I still cannot believe my luck that he is so... endlessly forgiving..." James sighed.

"Well, he's not _endlessly_ forgiving," Hercules chuckled, thinking about how Thomas, along with some mortals before, had invoked Aaron's fury. It wasn't quite the easiest thing to do, but it was not all that difficult either. But once Aaron's fury was invoked, there was no stopping the massacre until the fire of Aaron's fury had devoured everything it could and died on its own. "But I find he is all the more lovable for it."

"We should get going, I think... I think the, uh, 'scenic' route might be a nice distraction from everything that's been going on, wouldn't it?" James then said, suddenly uncomfortable, though he knew not why.

"Right you are! Let's go then!" Hercules grinned, sensing this sudden discomfort and trying his best to distract James from it. It wasn't all that often that he and James got to spend time alone with each other, and it tended to become or at least start a bit awkward each time they would, simply because they were used to having Aaron with them to make it a trio. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, their personalities just didn't clash in the right way. James was much calmer in the face of Hercules', at least by comparison, more outgoing nature. Their personalities clashed oddly when it was only them, Aaron usually serving as the mediating middle ground between them. James always marvelled at how Aaron could easily keep up with Hercules' nature, being loud and outgoing with him, and then immediately switch to something calm and quiet with James, and then a lovely mix of the two when with both of them.

Hercules and James began walking, falling into semi-awkward silence - at least James interpreted it this way - as they walked out of the burned-down valley, towards the Hills as Hercules had suggested. James wondered why Hercules wanted to take the 'long way'/'scenic route' in the first place. He'd rather go home now. Then again, maybe Hercules had sensed his discomfort and was making an effort to distract him, for which James was grateful for. Yet it made him feel bad again, seeing as the moment Aaron would return, he would have to reveal to them both that they were doing all these nice things for someone like him, a traitor, a liar, an undeserving vermin.

He tried to calm his nerves, they were acting up again. He couldn't back out of it now. The moment Aaron returned, he'd have to tell them. It was only fair. He'd get burned, sure, perhaps even literally so, but it was the right thing to do. It didn't matter that he would be hated by Aaron and Hercules in return for finally being 100 per cent honest with them, and it would be worth it. It would hurt, everyone involved, in fact, but it would, in the end, be worth it. That's what he tried to make himself believe, desperately so. In the end, it would be worth it. No matter how hard it would burn him, he was a changed god, and he would continue to change until he would be satisfied. He didn't need to be around Aaron, didn't need Aaron as his reason to change for the better. This sounded angry, even to him, though it was just to convince himself it would make no difference when Aaron would inevitably cast him out and aside with great scorn and wrath.

He hardly noticed as they passed the Hills and walked along the beach of the Sapphire Sea, the water glistening beautifully in the light of the sun. James' eye was only momentarily drawn to its beauty, then he found the golden sand a lot more intriguing. Somehow, after passing the Hundred Hills, his mind was blessedly quiet, for once not throwing accusations and insecurities at his face in a constant bombardment of all his failures, of all his mistakes. For once, his mind was blessedly quiet. He wasn't thinking, didn't notice much, especially not when Hercules began talking to him. Rather, at him than to him. James didn't know what he was talking about, he only vaguely noticed Hercules rambling at the edges of his senses. The world was blurry to him, ever so blurry, nothing caught his attention, there was nothing occupying his mind, his thoughts. He found he was lost in the forest that was his mind, yet there was nothing of interest in there either. He was lost but wasn't wandering. He was stuck in one place which, funnily enough, vaguely reminded him of how he often got stuck in his own mind in thoughts of Alexander, getting tangled in the dreams and desires he had.

He was so unwanderingly lost in his own mind that he did not even notice when Hercules made him stop in his tracks, only snapping out of it when Hercules raised his voice.

James' head shot up, startled, and he looked up at Hercules with confusion.

"What's wrong?" he asked, still somewhat startled from being so suddenly and rudely snapped into this reality.

"We're at the Pond to the realm of the dead. The other muses are right over there," he said in a hushed tone, pointing at the muses sitting by the pond, composing new pieces, surrounded by stacks upon stacks of paper.

"That's a lot of paper," James remarked and Hercules snorted.

"Yeah, I remember that day. Alexander came here and pranked us, blowing a bunch of leaves onto us then dumping the infinite parchment and ink into the pond. That was a fun day," Hercules grinned giddily, "It was the day, or night, rather, that I met Aaron."

"Good to know you two met under my moon," James let a genuine smile onto his lips at the thought.

"I'm glad, too," Hercules continued grinning, "Couldn't imagine a life without him," he admitted.

"Well, I hope he lets himself be persuaded into immortality, then you'll never have to worry about that," James smiled, then halted as Hercules' mood seemed to sour, his gaze turning solemn.

"I wish, but... I know he won't... I'm lucky enough that Nae has made him live as long as he has and then some... but I know that, one day, he will leave me. And I can't do anything against it. I just hope that I can make him as happy as I possibly can... Wouldn't want to leave him in the realm of the dead with a single bad memory that is not outshone by the happy ones. I want him to have twenty times more good memories than bad ones, at the very least. That is what I strive for, you see," Hercules explained, his smile soft and sad, though his eyes were full of love at the thought of Aaron. James couldn't help but feel somewhat happy at this. At least, even after they would begin to hate him, they would still absolutely adore and love and cherish each other. It would make no difference for them. At least that he could rest at complete ease about.

"Noble thing, I must say, to strive for. Another's happiness. I commend you, that is truly something noble to strive for. I wish I could do the same for the one I love..." James smiled.

"I'm sure you can," Hercules lightly poked his arm and James shook his head.

"I'm sure I can't..." James insisted, his tone worrying Hercules.

"Why not?" he finally asked after a moment of heavy silence. "If you love him, whoever he is, and you want to make him happy, then just do it."

"It's not quite that easy. First of all, I haven't any access to him, at all. Second... I fear anything I would do for him would end up being hated... he dislikes me, I fear..." James said and Hercules' eyes widened.

"I didn't know... why does he not like you? Is it because... you're on our side?" Hercules asked, more quietly.

"Strangely enough, no..." James sighed, "There are... other reasons..."

"You can tell me," Hercules tried his best to sound reassuring, soothing, something that would comfort James.

"I can't... not yet, at least... it's something bigger... Bigger than you might have thought... You and Aaron combined..." James looked to the side, the topic increasingly uncomfortable.

"Is... is this the thing that kept bothering you?" Hercules then asked and James looked at him in surprise, confirming his theory. James nodded, mouth slightly agape.

"It... it is... how did you?"

"Aaron said that he felt like something was still bothering you. Not your eye, not Thomas, something else... He couldn't pinpoint what, and neither can I, even now, but it seems he was not wrong at all..." Hercules explained and James nodded.

"Should have known," he smiled solemnly, "Nothing gets past him."

"It's almost scary how true that is," Hercules nodded and James snorted.

"A lot of things are almost scary about him," James admitted.

"Says a god about a mortal," Hercules quietly chuckled.

"You know full well what he is apparently capable of," James pointed out and Hercules nodded with a fond smile.

"Of course, I do. Doesn't mean it's not funny how a god thinks a mortal can be scary. It's funny to think about. I wonder if any other god, were they to learn of his feats, would fear him," Hercules chuckled.

"I don't fear him, per se. I am just aware that he has done a lot of things a mortal should not be capable of. It's not proper fear... respect for his abilities fits better," James reasoned and Hercules nodded, "And admiration, too, if I were to name it twice."

The silence that followed after this statement was neither heavy nor awkward, a nice change for once between them and he welcomed it wholeheartedly. But a thought crossed his mind and he had to voice it.

"Should we go home now?" he asked and Hercules nodded. James then noticed that he had called Alexander's palace his home. And a pang of sadness and pain struck him as he remembered he would not be able to call it so for much longer. Perhaps a day longer, if he was at all lucky.

"I think we sh-" Hercules tried but was interrupted as something fell into the pond near them with a loud SPLOOSH, startling them and the remaining muses, especially as the water splashed onto them and they snarled and yelped and growled with anger and frustration, each remembering the time Alexander had pranked them with water. Their work, most of it, at least, was utterly ruined. Hercules couldn't help but think it was somewhat deserved, but another side of him cringed at the sight of work being ruined.

"What was that?" Hercules asked, none in particular. James' eyes were wide.

"Aaron."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The temple arc is now officially over! Oh, but what follows after it is gonna be so good! (With which I mean, I will enjoy it, and you will suffer, as always!)
> 
> Thank you for your patience! Love you all lots!


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, this is gonna be fun!

Aaron flew up towards the sun with a dangerous glare and trembling fists at his sides as the winds brushed against him as his speed picked up in his anger. He knew he had the artefacts on himself, all except the one from the temple of life, he didn't need it, he had decided beforehand. He wouldn't need the one from the temple of light either, he figured, but it would have taken too much time for his taste to bring it home first. He sped up to the sun, its glare not even coming close to matching his own, such fury bore into his heart. With all his furious mind, he willed the sun to open for him, his glare piercing the outermost part of the sun and it meekly opened a hole for him to slip through. He hoped he would be unnoticed for the first few seconds.

His fury, while it didn't die down, was put into the back of his mind as a motivator, but not the thing that would make up the plans. He knew he had to draw up a plan beforehand, and such an impulsivity encouraging emotion as fury would not do him any good. He let his mind largely calm, everything around him became slower, slower, ever slower, until it seemed like everything had halted. He knew he did not stop moving, in a sense. His mind began working, the gears turning, plans forming.

And the world resumed its pace.

He rushed through the opening in the sun and immediately dove for something to hide behind. It was a bookcase, oddly enough, though hardly any books were in it, which he noticed as he almost tipped it over. Had the bookcase been full, he wouldn't have been able to do that so easily. He chanced a look into the room, raising a brow. It was one huge room and a huge mess. There were no books in the bookcase because they were all strewn about in piles that were currently still burning. In fact, most things in the room were currently set aflame and burning, the smoke travelling up, trapped by the ceiling. He knew it should have been difficult to breathe in any other sort of room, but this was the sun. It was one of the gateways to the realm of gods, the rules were different here. Everything in the room was a burnt mess, no order to be seen. But also no Thomas. Aaron's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Ah, he had been mistaken. Thomas was in the sun, he was just buried under a few hundred burning books and scrolls on his bed. Aaron only saw his burning hair sticking out from under the pile of books and he hummed. Was he asleep? he wondered.

But this question was answered a mere moment later as Thomas stirred under the pile of burning books (though, strangely, they never really seemed to be actually damaged by the fire). He got up, pushing the books that were on him off of him and to the ground, creating two more piles of books, but on the ground. He got up with a grunt and a groan, slapping a hand to his head and groaning in pain. Aaron took note of the empty bookcase above the bed and concluded, with a suppressed chuckle, that they must have fallen onto Thomas while he was sleeping or going to sleep. The thought amused him in a Schadenfreude sort of way. He hid further behind the bookcase, grateful that it was not like the ones in Alexander's library and had a back.

From his hiding spot, he got a pretty decent view on Thomas' current state, which was, to understate current affairs, as they could not be done justice in words, horrible. His entire being was a mess on fire. His hair tousled and messy, not having been even attempted to tame in years, knots making the hair stick to the skull painfully and the grease was most prominently on fire, the fire there a harsh green lapping at the skull, flaring angrily. Aaron wondered why most of Thomas' body was on fire, only for a moment before remembering fire was Thomas' schtick as the god of the sun. Anger, possibly, he guessed. Anger and a shot of spite. Nothing Aaron was not familiar with to deal with internally or externally.

He continued watching Thomas for a bit, deciding which one of his twenty-six plans he should use, and he needed further data for it. He needed to know what exact state of mind Thomas was in to evaluate what sort of trickery, if any, he would fall for.

Thomas stumbled forwards, his movements clunky, like he had barely any control over his limbs altogether, over his body. Aaron studied him closely, waiting and watching as Thomas stumbled over to the... window? Aaron guessed it served at least the same or a similar purpose. Thomas threw glare around the room, letting Aaron get a glimpse of his eyes. His eyes were a burning hot red, blood red. Like his eyes were bleeding. Fire protruded from his body as he continued stumbling to the window, holding himself steady on the railing before the window. The glares Thomas shot down to the realm below almost rivalled Aaron's own fury that was buried into the edges of his mind. Suddenly, the window seemed to zoom into something on the realm below, and Aaron could very clearly see James face, walking with Hercules along some steep Hills. They had decided to walk a bit before going home, Aaron figured. He was vaguely aware of why Thomas' glare kept following James, and the thought of it let his fury almost into the foreground of his mind, which he could only barely avoid. He needed to keep a clear mind. A clear mind, empty his head of distracting things. He needed to be focused. He needed to be calm, otherwise, he would be reckless, impulsive, not going by the plan. He was close to choosing a plan, stuck between plan 18 and plan 23. Nearly identical plans, by all means, the only difference was the tone, which, actually, made a huge difference in itself. Though he decided he still had to wait, despite the fury bubbling up the more he watched Thomas do... whatever he was doing.

Thomas began mumbling under his breath, his voice carried over to Aaron by the intense echo in the room, which he could not understand why it would be there. The room was by no means empty, large, but not empty. It made no sense there would be an echo. After a moment of thought, Aaron thought that maybe Thomas' voice was echoy all on its own. He didn't know what that meant or implied, but it intrigued him to some degree. At least he could hear what he was muttering to himself.

"One of these days, you'll see. One of these days you'll be alone, vulnerable, alone. And I will show you just how weak you are. I will show you the full extent of my fury. Look at you, thinking the curse I've inflicted upon you was anything special. If I ever get you in my hands-" Thomas cut himself off, growling loudly, turning into something of a hiss at James' image.

Aaron felt fury overtake him, for only a split-second of a moment. He forced himself to step back, breathing in deeply, but quietly. Calming himself. It was decided then, which plan he would use. He made sure he had the crown with him, along with the artefacts he might need. He would drag this out, play a bit, and then he'd strike the final blow. Play a bit, he liked the thought. A smile came to his lips, almost forced for the game he wanted to play, but also somewhat natural. He decided it was time to step forward.

He came forth from behind the bookcase, noting, with amusement, that Thomas' intense hate willed him to ignore the strange sound of feet walking behind him in favour of glaring at James with his red eyes. Aaron watched this with amusement for another ten seconds, before he cleared his throat.

Thomas jumped and whirled around, summoning his silver fire in case he needed to defend himself, then halted completely as he saw Aaron. He didn't recognize him at first, Aaron knew this by the hint of confusion in Thomas' red eyes, and it made him grin.

"Who are you?" Thomas snarled, "Why are you here?"

"Missed me?" Aaron grinned, completely ignoring the questions. Thomas' eyed widened to a comical size as he recognized the voice. Even after such a long time, Thomas would recognize that voice anywhere, at any time. But he couldn't believe it. Aaron. Here. In the sun. With him. Most importantly with _him_. Not with Hercules, not with _James_. He couldn't believe it.

"A-Aaron?" his voice broke, high in disbelief.

"One and only," Aaron replied with an amused smile, though the fury began bubbling inside him again, he had to keep it at bay. He wanted to play.

"I can't see your face... Why can't I see you?" he asked, his voice almost sounding with some sort of desperate whine.

"Silly, why would I show my face anywhere near the realm of mortals?" Aaron asked in return, "Wouldn't want the unwanted attention. I do hear I am wanted dead."

"I would never allow for that to happen," Thomas' voice dropped dangerously, as if in threat, though it was by no means directed at Aaron.

"How would you accomplish that? Cooped up in the sun all day, too busy planning on hurting James again to actually keep an eye out for me," Aaron remarked, bemused. This seemed to catch Thomas entirely off-guard, another amusing thing to watch. Aaron was having a lot of fun doing this.

"I- I... Aaron why did you not let me anywhere near you in the past- in the past 32 years!" he asked with desperation, the red in his eyes flickering away to give way to his natural eye colour. The fires protruding from his body seemed to become lesser and lesser in Aaron's mere presence.

"Well, I have been rather busy. You have as well, I see," he motioned for the burning piles of books and other things. Thomas' face reddened in embarrassment.

"I-... Yes! Yes, I have been quite busy! Um- raising the sun isn't all that easy a task, you see, and it's a- uh- a daily job!" he tried to smile convincingly, but Aaron scoffed.

"I know for a fact you can let your duties be handled by a spell if you wanted to. Makes one wonder why you are needed for it in the first place," Aaron almost spat, though there was clear venom in his voice, any sort of smile vanished. "Though, stalking does tend to require more effort. I can see how that kept you busy."

"St- What are you talking about?" Thomas' eyes widened even larger than before, Aaron almost wondered when they'd pop right out of their sockets, contemplating why he didn't bring scissors or any other sort of blade to cut them if that happened. But Aaron merely pointed behind Thomas, at the 'window', which was still focused on James. He raised an unimpressed brow at Thomas, though he knew the other couldn't see it. Thomas sucked in a breath.

"You were saying?" Aaron growled.

"You don't understand-"

"I think I understand quite well. I understand your jealousy, envy, greed, all of which feeding your pride and wrath. I cannot and will not forgive your actions. Your irrational, horrible actions," Aaron interrupted with a snarl.

"No, Aaron, you don't. You don't understand. He's a traitor-"

"Whether or not that is the case is my call to make, not yours. My trust in you had been given to me by Alexander; you must know, I have lost it on my own. You've lied to me, and now you've hurt one of the only people in this world that I trust. I cannot forgive and I will not forget. You will have to face the consequences of your actions," Aaron interrupted again.

"I tried to protect you from him! You can't trust him, he's dangerous!" Thomas yelped.

"More so than you?" Aaron raised a sceptical brow, Thomas flinched. "I don't think so."

Thomas tried to approach Aaron, "You have to believe me, he's a traitor, a liar, he's dangerous. You can't trust him- He-"

"Quiet." Aaron hissed, grabbing his hood and throwing it off, revealing his face. Thomas halted in his tracks with a gasp. The world seemed to halt for Thomas in an instant, for an instant that lasted an eternity as the beauty of the man in front of him, shooting a glare at him, put a spell on him that completely entranced him in absolute awe. He felt a desire bubble up inside of him. A desire to hold Aaron, to keep him close and protected and loved. Hold him. He wanted to hold him, hold his face, stare into those beautiful galaxies that were his eyes, get lost in their infinite, awe-inspiring beauty, swim and soar among the stars. He knew he could die staring into those gorgeous orbs and he wouldn't mind one bit. He felt the heat of a blush come to his cheeks and his body urged him, with desire and need rippling through him, to come closer to Aaron and hold him closer, hold his face, steal a kiss from those lips he had always been dying to meet with his own. Oh, how he yearned to breach this horrible gap between them and fulfil his needs, these needs that were eating at him, rippling through him. He wished so desperately for the body in front of him.

Aaron smiled, his glare replaced with smugness, and Thomas was yet again utterly breathless at the beauty of this smile alone. He could barely craft a coherent thought in his head. He felt himself beginning to tremble with the heat curling in his stomach. Aaron stepped closer and Thomas' heart sped up with every step Aaron came closer to him. He didn't notice how Aaron rummaged under his cloak for something, then pulling it out with a smile, covering up his anger and keeping Thomas distracted, eyes stuck to Aaron's face.

"Aaron..." Thomas breathed, but couldn't form neither sentence nor thought.

"You have forced upon James an everlasting punishment and everlasting pain. It is only fair for you to suffer the same fate. I am here, simply put, to bring justice," Aaron said, carefully containing the growl burning up in his throat. Thomas could barely comprehend what Aaron said, he was too intoxicated by his beauty.

"Aaron..." he breathed in a mumble, the heat in his body rising as the pure and raw desire to hold the man in front of him began to consume him like the fire he wielded.

Aaron's features darkened, a glare with all his wrath rumbling forth, the force of which startled Thomas, almost startling him out of his trance, but not quite. Not quite, and he fell back into it easily, like falling onto a cloud. He felt fuzzy, fuzzier and fuzzier the more he stared into those beautiful eyes and let the sudden and burning desire envelop him fully.

He did not realise what Aaron was doing, not until it was much too late. He barely felt the pricks of thorns on his head and the blood running down, he was much too entranced and lost in Aaron's eyes which were now so close to him, he could feel Aaron's warm breath hitting his lips as close as he was and he so desperately wanted to close the gap with a kiss, but something was stopping him, all this time from doing so.

And suddenly, there was something in his head, rushing in with such a painful force it threw him to the ground with a scream. He clutched at his head, blinded by red entering his vision, painting the entire world with blood as he screamed and screeched at the pain of this thing in his head, these things. Things, these things filling up his head, taking root in the very depth of his brain, filling it up to the brim; it felt like his head was about to explode all over, and he almost wished for it, his head to explode and be rid of this horrible pain, pulsating, screeching, scrambling, scratching in his brain, in his head, burning with such intensity. He scarcely felt the tears running down his cheeks through all the pain as he clutched at his head, trying to rip it off himself.

Aaron took an almost startled step back as Thomas writhed and convulsed on the floor with horrible screams and screeching being ripped from his throat from the pain. Aaron felt the blissful calm of revenge wash over him, but neither smile nor smirk could live on his lips, dying the instant he felt the tug of them at the corners of his mouth. It was rather satisfying, though, to some degree, it felt somewhat empty. Meaningless even. He scowled as he watched Thomas writhe in pain. Then, it suddenly stopped and Thomas was merely trembling on the floor, shaking uncontrollably as tears, just as uncontrollably as his shaking, rolled down his cheeks, sizzling when they hit the floor. Fire was bursting yet again from his body, engulfing him in flames; a last, desperate attempt to be rid of the pain. The fire, like the pain, exploded through the entire sun. Nae reacted quickly, manifesting and protecting Aaron from the sudden and involuntary blast and an explosion of fire from Thomas. The entire sun blew up in a rage of fire, and Nae could barely protect him from the burst of fire consuming him whole, it was so powerful. He was thrown from the exploding sun, he felt something at his feet catch fire and he tried to will himself to fly, but it wouldn't work. It just wouldn't work, it just would not work. He could not fly. He couldn't fly.

His heart began racing as he fell from the skies, the air pushing past him with uncharacteristic harshness, he was panicking, turning in the air. He tried to get into one position. He looked back to where the sun had been. It was gone, for a few moments. Not even enough time for the light of it to die out. It was a strange sight to see, and, even if only for a moment, it made Aaron forget that he was falling to what was very likely his death. For a moment, there was no sun, all its parts were strewn about in the sky. It was like they were floating there, just floating there, burning. Thomas was nowhere to be seen. He was nowhere near the burning, scattered pieces of the sun.

But, suddenly, it was like it was pulled back, all pieces, being pulled into one centre as if reversing the explosion. He stared, awe-struck for a mere moment as he witnessed this; the sun reforming. He knew, somehow, it wasn't Thomas' doing, Thomas would have no control over this in his current and future state. There was no jitter of a spell in the air, nothing. Absolutely nothing and the sun was reforming itself, all on its own. It was a brilliant sight. Brilliant. He felt a tingle. An ancient command, almost, but not quite, like a spell. He gasped, but he couldn't gather much air in his lungs as he fell. He knew Nae could only protect him so much, and with the height he was falling from, the speed at which he fell, his death upon impact was nearly guaranteed.

He cried out a scream, for the first time in years he was truly, honestly terrified. Honest, pure fear ran through him like a bolt of lightning. Nae desperately hung around him, holding him tightly to itself, trying to expand itself to protect him, but Aaron knew for a fact which he was quietly accepting, that it wouldn't make a lick of a difference.

What an anticlimactic ending, he mused, for someone like him. He did not think all that highly of himself, at all, but there were many things that he was certainly the only of.

The only mortal to befriend a god, even if he is a dead one; the only mortal to enter the realm of gods; the only mortal to be the lover of a muse; the only mortal who has ever entranced a god with their beauty; the only mortal who had ever fought back against a god. He had quite the resume. And now it was all ending. Was this justice? he suddenly wondered. Perhaps it hadn't been his place at all to decide upon revenge. Upon second thought, yes, that made sense. He was going to die because he took someone's fate into his own hands. He was going to die. He was going to die.

He breathed in his last breath as the ground came closer, closer, ever closer. Tears were in his eyes, blurring his vision, he was terrified. He would never see Hercules again, let alone Alexander, let alone James. He would never see any of them again. He wondered what would happen to Nae. Would it be dragged to the underworld with him? Would it be forced to guard his dead body? He didn't wish for that. It being dragged to the underworld with him would be mostly ideal. Nae would be where it was meant to be, not stuck with him, but in the one place its soul belonged. But he, he didn't belong there. He couldn't die, not yet. Not yet. He had so much to do, he had so much left to do. He couldn't, not yet!

He whimpered, tried to, as he hadn't the strength in his body, in his very mind to let out a single sound. Nae was holding him tighter and tighter and tighter, Aaron could sense the desperation in its very core, pulsating like a steady heartbeat, almost calming him, but his fear was too great. It was hopeless. It would be hopeless. He was going to die. Hercules wouldn't know what had happened, James certainly wouldn't.

Worst of all, he would be remembered. Hercules and James would not get the mercy of forgetting. They would suffer the curse of grief. Alexander, wherever he was, would be forced to grief. The mercy of a god's death, forgetting. All friends and family and everyone connected to the god would forget, never remember their existence, their love and memories, gone, like they'd never existed in the first place. Only a slight feeling of loss, but not knowing what was lost. The only mercy of a god's death. And Hercules, James and Alexander were not allowed this mercy. Instead, they would be forced to suffer grief over him. Mourning. Remembering. Everything. The most human thing, would be forced upon them. Remembering the dead.

Remembering.

Aaron knew the end was coming, so soon. Too soon. He didn't want this. Once upon a time he would have embraced such a fate, would have embraced death warmly, friendly, without hesitance, a moment of resistance, but not now. He had been given reason to live, a reason to survive, and he had. He had survived it all, and a fall was going to be the end of him. He had been so sure. So sure of it all. Surviving, living, loving, laughing, he was doing it all. He had been alive, he was alive, and now... it would come to an end. A horrible end. without mercy. Death. Merciless Death.

With this last thought, he hit the hard surface of water and went under. Water engulfed him, enveloped him fully. Something was dragging him downwards, into the dark depths of whatever body of water he had hit. The light around him was fading, along with all colours. He couldn't breathe. Spots of darkness entered his vision as he was dragged further into the depths of the water, down, down, down, further down, down down.

Suddenly, he was out of the water, he could breathe again, but he crashed into a wooden surface, breaking it. He opened his eyes in shock. A table? Something stepped closer to him. He looked up and gasped, his blurry vision barely making out the figure above him.

"Am... am I dead?" he asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am excited! This is gonna be loads of fun!


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D: Same... Cloak  
> A: Same Cloak?  
> D: Same Cloak!  
> A: Same Cloak!  
> D: Pun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this is the chapter that I have been most excited to write! Very excited actually! I hope you like it as much as I did, writing it!

"Am... am I dead?" he asked.

"Drop-dead gorgeous maybe, but no, you're not," came the answer. The blur disappeared from Aaron's eyes, he whimpered as he made out the figure above him.

The figure wore a black cloak, the hood of it covering its head. It was so tall, it would hit the cave's ceiling if it were just a bit taller. His heartbeat sped up in fear as he stared into the figure's face. It looked rotten, rotten all over, skin peeling off, revealing the bloody skull underneath, eyes sunken in and dull and- he gasped. A tattoo of a tear that was constantly falling.

The god of Death.

"U-Uh... Um..." Aaron stammered with wide-blown eyes, his breathing just as stuttered. The god of Death smiled at him sombrely. "So... I'm... Uh... in... the realm of the dead?"

"Yup. Broke my poker table and all. Fell right on it through the pond. You look like you've seen a ghost," he chuckled darkly.

"Oh, uh, I'm... I'm sorry... Wait... So, I'm not dead, and I'm... pond you say?" he asked and the god of Death nodded.

"Yup. And you broke my poker table. And I had such a good hand," he chuckled to himself, "Scared me half to death, too."

"Haha," Aaron chuckled awkwardly at the joke, "Uh... I'm... I'm Aaron."

"Lafayette. I'd shake your hand," he said and showed his right wrist, lacking a hand, "But I don't appear to have one."

Aaron laughed a bit more freely this time. But there was an annoyed squeak just behind him and turned around, only to find a carrier sitting there with a few cards in hand. The carrier had dark grey fur with naked patches here and there. It looked like an oversized rat. The tail ended with the symbol of the spell 'Taking Death's Hand'.

"Montague! Don't be rude! He is clearly distressed. I'm just trying to lift his spirits," Lafayette grinned, followed by another groan-like squeak from the carrier, "Now, what's a gorgeous mortal such as your- that cloak..." Lafayette halted with wide eyes.

"What?" Aaron asked, a bit uneasy as Lafayette stared at him like that, "Oh... we have the same cloak... different colour..."

"That is Alexander's cloak... The one he wore before he... was forgotten..." Lafayette whispered.

"What?" Aaron blinked, "Um... I suppose it is, then... Were you two..." he gulped, "...close?"

Lafayette sighed, "Like brothers, all of us really. I don't suppose you'd know..."

"Earth, Fire, Water, Life, Darkness and Light?" Aaron asked and Lafayette perked up.

"How did you?" Lafayette blinked and Aaron pulled back some of the cloak, revealing the artefacts. Lafayette gasped. "How did you get them?"

"Um... They were in the temples... I found eight temples, each with a spell and artefact inside. Even yours..." he said, pulling out the sickle and Lafayette's surprised expression was replaced with a grin and laugh.

"That's my hand! I've been wondering where it was!" Lafayette grinned, taking the sickle with his left hand, "Shaking my own hand, ha."

"How did you manage to lose that? To lose a hand?" Aaron asked, finding this entire thing ridiculous.

"Poker."

"What?"

"I am horrible at poker," Lafayette nodded and the carrier, Montague, Aaron remembered, squeaked loudly with a nod. Lafayette growled at it, embarrassed.

"You lost your hand in a game of poker? To your carrier?" Aaron asked incredulously.

"Good thing I kept calm back then, or I would've lost my head as well!" Lafayette laughed and Aaron couldn't help but giggle at how ridiculous this all was. Montague chirped angrily at Lafayette who had a shit-eating grin on in return.

"Wow... This is so weird," Aaron couldn't help but remark with a smile.

"What, do I not _live_ up to your expectations?" he asked and Aaron giggled.

"You're... just a lot less gloomy than I expected," Aaron admitted with a smile.

"What do you mean, 'gloomy'? I'm the life of the party!" Lafayette scoffed with a grin and Aaron couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I never would have guessed the god of Death would be such a comedian," Aaron grinned softly. Lafayette shrugged.

"Comes with the job, I suppose," he replied and Aaron felt the mood drop considerably. Aaron checked his feet for any damage the explosion might have caused.

"Well, I- Oh, no..." he said as he felt for his feet, and noticed that the wings were burned.

"Oh, that doesn't look good?" Lafayette guessed.

"Shit, I lost my ride back home, I see... You, uh, haven't, by any chance, two pairs of small wings you could spare?" he asked with a hopeful tone and Lafayette nodded, placing the sickle on the ground and waving his left hand, conjuring not only to pairs of wings nearly identical to the ones Aaron had before, but also needle and thread. He handed it over for Aaron to use.

"This can take some time... So, uh..." he pulled off his sandals and began working, "Um... Yeah, how come you're... not affected by me as much?"

"Hm? Oh! It comes with the realm. You are gorgeous, no doubt, but down here... such things are dimmed. The beauty of life is... dimmed... I wonder if I'd instantly fall for you if we had met up there," Lafayette motioned upwards with his head. "Probably. You are gorgeous."

"Um... I suppose... How much do you know?" he asked, though a blush crept to his cheeks at the compliment, from such an unlikely source, no less.

"What do you mean?" Lafayette asked.

"About my situation, about this in general... Because it feels like you know things, but I don't know just how much you know..." Aaron answered, gripping the wings tightly in his left hand as he tried to attach one of them to his sandal, "You seem to know a lot, I just wanna know what exactly."

"What gives you the idea I know anything?" Lafayette smiled overly innocently and Aaron just looked at him unimpressed. "Alright, I do know a few things. I know who you are, I know that you are taken - shame, really - and I know a few of the things you've been through and some things you've done. You'd think the dead wouldn't talk that much, you'd be mistaken. Most of them kept talking about, ranting and all. Really, they will talk your ear off!" He showed his left ear that had chunks and bits bitten out of it. "You've done a lot in your life."

"Goodness... So, you said you and Alexander, and the other six gods, were close, right?" he asked.

"Like family, more or less. Philip and George were a bit more intimate," Lafayette chuckled at the memories that were dancing into his mind.

"Yeah, I figured. But how come I have never heard Alexander talk about you? I was- I am very close with Alexander, too, but he has never talked about you, not even once. How come?" he asked and Lafayette sighed with a sad frown.

"I suppose that would be my own fault..." he said and sat down next to Aaron, though he was still towering over him. "I have... extracted myself from all affairs not concerning my work..."

Aaron looked up from his work, he had already attached one of the wings.

"What happened?" he asked carefully, his tone soft.

"Well... Alexander... he was forgotten... like everyone else. Like Philip, George, Adrienne, Theodosia, Sally and Holly. And it's my fault..." Lafayette lamented.

"Your... all those other gods are gone, they've stopped existing... how come Alexander is still... Alive?" he asked, carefully. Lafayette let out a dark chuckle along with a sigh.

"It's my fault, all of it. All of my friends are dead because of my- Because I could not control my worshippers..." he explained. "There's a lot you don't know, a lot that nobody knows about Alexander, about me, about... everyone else..."

"Then... tell me... Tell me what happened," Aaron said, calmly, carefully, his voice soft and reassuring, ignoring the ridiculousness of him reassuring _the god of Death_ , but also, to some degree, his tone was pressing.

"We were the first... All eight of us, we were the first. Alexander was the third one, actually," Lafayette began.

"The first... the first gods?" Aaron breathed, in awe.

"Yup. Sally, goddess of the Earth, was the very first one, all alone for a bit and she got busy making the realms. Then came Philip out of a mountain some day and there was fire, he made a volcano, he did, the one they'd go on to use as his temple. Then, a storm, and there was Alexander, riding the lightning atop his clouds. Holly was next, Alexander's clouds were raining, everyone was confused, and there was Holly, falling. Alexander caught her, of course. But as the rain fell upon the earth, something happened. Life formed, plants and everything, and that's when Theodosia came to be. She was found tending to the plants, but confused. Alexander immediately dove to help her. But the plants died just as quickly as they had been born, and I appeared. I appeared together with her. And I took the life she had created, away... It's what I do, it's my job, my purpose. She never liked it, always tried to create something I wouldn't take away, but, eventually, I always did... Then George and Adrienne came, brought us light and darkness, made us see in different ways. George and Philip made the sun together, whereas Adrienne made the moon. We were the first and the only ones," Lafayette smiled nostalgically, reminiscing in those memories, "Until Theodosia made... people... It was... odd at first. None of us knew what they were really supposed to be. What they were supposed to be for. Her reply? For fun. She made your kind for fun."

"I don't know how to feel about that... But... she's... how..." Aaron found it difficult to find the right words, they just wouldn't leave his mouth.

"But then... something even weirder happened. Because they had no purpose, people sought out their own... some began worshipping us. We became stronger, the more people prayed to us, worshipped us. It was strange. Theodosia was, of course, the most powerful of us, being the goddess of life. She never misused her power, never abused it, blessed be she for it. None of us would have, mind you. We were worshipped, and people began to build things for us in worship. Our temples, statues, they wrote and composed creative works for us, which was when the muses arrived. One by one, always greeted by Alexander upon beginning to exist. I don't know why he always did it. Always greeted the newcomers. It was what he liked to do best. But then-" Lafayette sighed.

"How did they die? Gods like that, gods like you... can't be forgotten just like that... can they?" Aaron asked.

"There's a bit more to it than being forgotten. I should know, it's my job... it'll be the death of me," he chuckled darkly. "No... we can be forgotten like anyone else, but... we don't immediately disappear. Not like the gods that came after us. Because we are by no means like those gods. We... We were the first. We came to be without Theodosia's people, without humans. Every other god that comes and came after us was a creation of the people, and thus it is them who will decide their fates."

"But... Alexander was weakened when I met him, even weaker afterwards and... How did the others die?" Aaron's voice cracked for a moment before he pulled himself together. "If they didn't die upon being forgotten..."

"They were forgotten... and then they were killed," Lafayette's own voice cracked with pain, "Each of us had a cult of worshippers. I had my own as well... I don't know the reason, they refuse to... to let me know, but they began killing every single worshipper of my friends. Every single one of them. And they did so in a way that I did not notice until it was much too late. They killed them in their sleep, so even their victims would not know how they came to die. And it continued this way until every single worshipper of a cult would die, and thus the god would be forgotten. The worshippers were dreadfully separated, barely even aware of other gods at that point. But the moment that all worshippers were... killed... was the moment that the forgotten god would notice as well. And they'd come to see what's going on... and my cult would be waiting... waiting as the god was too weak, having lost all worshippers, to strike with the only thing that could ever harm us... our own powers, which we had granted our cults. The artefacts you have... were the ones they made with the powers we granted them."

"I had no idea..." Aaron gasped, "But... in the- in _your_ temple, there were the bodies of the priests from the earth, fire, water, wind and your temple. Why would they bring them there? Why was that temple also... abandoned, so to speak?" Aaron couldn't help but ask. No matter how inappropriate his curiosity was, he needed to know the solution to this mystery. And it appeared he was doing the god next to him a favour in doing so. Lafayette appeared almost relieved to be asked these things. To be finally asked.

"I don't know why they had dragged them there, but from what I've seen and concluded, some of the worshippers from those cults had... well, not survived, but had left evidence of their existence, and those people in my temple... they were those who read and believed. But, of course, before anything could change, they were sought out and killed, the temples sealed off. I eventually found out about it all... And I decided I'd take them early. They are currently suffering for their and their ancestors' crimes, along with them. All those of my own cult that had anything to do with it. Of course, there are still members who haven't a lick to do with them, and they don't associate with them either. The traitorous seeds of my cult are the only ones cursed to suffer in my realm. And they will continue to suffer until they see reason and seek forgiveness," Lafayette explained further, "I am no evil creature or entity. I am angry at them for what they've done, but if they'd simply apologize, see how wrong they were in their cruel pursuits, I could see it in myself to forgive. I have grieved enough, yet..." He didn't continue.

There was a heavy silence as Aaron took all of this in. Lafayette had lost all of his friends, people he had viewed as family. But, as much as he pitied the man, the god besides him...

"But... Alexander was never killed," he concluded, "Your cult... it never got to him, did it?"

"No, it didn't," Lafayette replied, almost impressed, "It tried, by all of our creations, it tried. But he was much faster than them, understood too quickly what was going on for them to do anything. He got the artefact of his temple and bolted, hiding in the one place where no one could find him, creating the perfect defence system while he was at it, just to make sure he'd survive it. I'm not talking about the tornado or the storm that his palace is in the middle of, that is a much stronger spell than he could have crafted at his being forgotten. It was something different around that, but it's gone now, I hear..." Lafayette explained.

"Heard from where?" Aaron asked, having stitched on the third wing.

"Montague. Little beast. Little Rat. Tells me everything I need to know. My little gossiper," Lafayette had it in himself to smile fondly.

"Who you lost a body part to," Aaron remarked with a grin which was answered by a snort.

"Indeed." 

"Alexander didn't die because they didn't kill him. I assume it was the same with you? Or did they not attempt to kill you?" he asked.

"I cannot die."

"You can't?"

"I am not allowed the only mercy I may grant. Being Death I cannot take myself. What a paradox that would be. If I took myself, I would be the last death. No mortal would ever die again, causing them to live in constant misery, famish, in their own waste. In pain and..." he stopped himself from continuing, then he turned to Aaron. "What do you think?"

"Huh. Romantic," Aaron said simply.

"You find that romantic? Which part exactly?" he wasn't quite sure if Aaron's statement was offensive or senseless or both.

"The concept of what you do. I don't quite know how to express it. Perhaps another time."

Lafayette nodded, dropping the topic entirely with a simple shrug. The mortal beside him, he found him peculiar.

"You know, your presence really livens up the place," Lafayette said with a grin.

"You did not just... You did, I cannot believe it," Aaron groaned, the grin on his lips betraying him.

"Hey, live and let live, that's what I say. Though, admittedly, I can't _quite_ live by that," Lafayette stuck out his rotten tongue.

"For someone with a job like yours you joke around an awful lot," Aaron huffed playfully.

"All in good spirits."

Aaron shook his head with a chuckle. Then, as his features softened from a laugh into a small smile, it dropped, bit by bit, some concern, as thoughts crossed him, crossing his face.

"Are you actually okay, though?" Aaron asked after a bit of silence between them, letting some concern seep into his voice.

"Never felt more alive," was all Lafayette said in return.

Aaron wasn't entirely happy with this answer and he decided to keep on pressing the issue.

"I'm serious. Are you okay? Because, after all of this had happened to you, losing what was basically your family... I can't imagine that you're okay, joking and laughing..." Aaron said, finishing the last stitches of the last wing, putting on his sandals. But he was not about to leave that soon. He stayed. "Anything troubling you? Nightmares?"

"Well, I haven't slept in centuries, so I can't exactly have nightmares," Lafayette replied drily, his mood suddenly souring.

"That can't be healthy."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," Lafayette grumbled with hostility and Aaron flinched.

"Sorry..." he mumbled, his brows furrowing.

"It's not your place to care. You aren't even supposed to be here," he spat.

"I know I'm not," Aaron replied defensively, "I didn't exactly come here by choice!"

"No one does!" Lafayette spat, "Not intentionally. Sure, there's a suicide here or there, some poor soul that couldn't handle living anymore, deciding whatever they may find on the other side is much better than what life can give them, but the moment they take one step, one single, measly step into my realm, suddenly, they want to live again. No one ever wants to _stay_."

"Well, your attitude doesn't seem to be helping in any way, so I can't see that changing anytime soon!" Aaron scoffed loudly.

"Oh, so a simple change of attitude will fix all these problems? How could I not have seen this beforehand!" Lafayette growled sarcastically. "It's all so easy, isn't it!"

"Oh, I'm sure that I can find a thing or two more, your attitude is just the problem centred solely around you, but affecting everyone else! Fix that first, then you can go about fixing the attitude of everyone else! And heck, I'm not even saying it's simple! But with the attitude of 'Oh woe, nothing ever changes, everything is always the same; miserable' that you are displaying, no wonder nothing changes here! The only one who could change it, doesn't!" Aaron yelled angrily, startling Lafayette into silence.

"What are you saying?" he asked, unsure if it was anger or surprise prompting him to speak so defensively, his tone didn't give it away, not even to himself.

"I'm saying that everything down here seems to be a problem of attitude. You have this attitude that everything is miserable, nothing ever changes, things will stay miserable. But that's not true, not unless you let it be true. If your attitude remains the same, that nothing will ever change, then nothing _will ever change_. Change, good change, doesn't just happen," Aaron said and Lafayette knew by the tone of Aaron's voice and by the look in his eyes that Aaron was speaking from experience, "You have to make changes yourself. It's not easy, risks have to be taken, and sometimes, yes, things get worse, but when you get it right, and you will get it right, eventually, then you've made a change, a good change. And then you will have the chance to look at what you did and be happy with it, or go even further, and change things for the better for other people."

"I almost thought you would say something along the lines of 'helping others will bring you happiness', or some such," Lafayette hummed, taking Aaron's words into careful consideration.

"Absolutely not. You cannot change anything for someone else for the better if you yourself are in a state of misery. If you want me to give the 'be selfless' moral of the day, here I go, and it's even a metaphor, just for you: _Climb out of the hole first, before you extend a hand to pull another out, or you'll both stay in the dark_ ," he said. Lafayette saw the passion burning in Aaron's eyes. It was almost scary, the way his eyes seemed to burn up in passion as he spoke those words, Lafayette felt intimidated, even if only slightly. He was a bit in awe. A lot in awe.

"You appear to have good advice. I wonder if you live by it as well," Lafayette said, his anger had dissipated completely, much to his surprise. He knew his ill moods could last quite a while at a time, and the last time a mood so ill had passed so quickly... he couldn't remember the time.

"I try to, best as I can. Trouble is, my best isn't always enough. But it's all I can do... it's a truth that's difficult to accept, it's a painful truth, and I'm sure there have been, are and will be times when I cannot take my own advice, where I will be selfless first and self-caring never, when I will keep my troubles locked away inside, though I am aware if I let another help me they would help ease the troubles away, lift the burden from my shoulders, when I will lie and deny for no good cause, when I will be hypocritical. There will be times when I don't try my best, but there will be just as many, if not more so times where I will try my best. And that's all we can ever hope to do or be. Our best. Not _the_ best, just ours," he said with such finality that Lafayette did not dare argue. And there was nothing to argue in the first place, he noted as he processed the argument. There was such an innate and intimate truth to it, he was startled.

"Still, I do not quite see how this pertains to my... troubles," Lafayette said, though he was ready to listen, not to simply lash out again. Aaron nodded, understanding.

"The way I see it, people down here are unhappy. Not only that, but you are unhappy as well. Now, your unhappiness runs deep, rather deep, and I cannot hope to help get rid of it entirely, not for as long as I planned to stay, which isn't long, hence why I won't be of much help, but it isn't hopeless. It never is," Aaron said, "I need you to understand that it is never hopeless."

"I suppose I can... convince myself to believe that," Lafayette replied.

"I don't know the reason for the unhappiness of those... 'living' here, but I am sure that you can figure it out quickly. But you may not attempt to solve the problem until you are, at the very least, stable enough, content perhaps. Otherwise, it will end up hurting everyone involved, noble as the attempt at help may be. You have to understand that your health should be your first priority, otherwise, if you want to help, you won't be of much help," Aaron continued.

"That... is surprisingly sound logic..." Lafayette replied, mouth slightly agape in awe.

"What, did you think I'm just a pretty face with no mind to back my mouth? I am surprised at you!" Aaron huffed playfully. He wasn't quite ready to put down his anger, not even after his lecture.

"I meant no offence. Ah, now I am curious. You are still alive, and yet you are to be found in the realm of the dead. Do tell, please, how did that come to be?" Lafayette asked.

"I couldn't exactly control where I fell after the sun blew up and burned the wings."

"You blew up the sun?" Lafayette's eyes widened in surprise.

"No, but I suppose I was a cause for it to happen. Strangely, though, it has pulled itself back together a few moments after it has so rudely expelled me from its centre," he scowled and turned his head away from Lafayette, scooting away.

"You were in the sun? Thomas let you in?" Lafayette kept asking, suddenly rather intrigued.

"He did not let me in. I let myself in. You find I can't be kept out of places I should not be in," he spat, though this did not deter Lafayette's curiosity.

"You said a moment ago you find the concept of my work romantic. Perhaps you could elaborate?" he asked, carefully, trying to get Aaron back into pleasant conversation. Forgetting the hostile burst a moment ago. Aaron growled but obliged with an answer.

"It is a constant, _the_ one constant. Something to be trusted that will always occur. Death is inevitable for everyone. Everyone will die at some point, no god or mortal is exempt from this rule. You do not discriminate, you take whoever's time is up. Or isn't. Point is, you take everyone eventually. It is the fate all creatures share. Every life shares this trust, this constant, this truth. It is the one thing anyone can believe and trust will happen, and it will never disappoint. It's precisely why I would never wish to be immortal. Perhaps you think 'romantic' may be the wrong word, though there is no word fitting better, in my opinion, having experienced romance to a great extent myself," he stood his ground decisively, "Trust and constant and truth, the trust that the other will always be there, the constant presence they reassuringly provide, and the truth of their sentiments is the foundation of any relationship."

"A rather... unique view on my work..." Lafayette said with impressed eyes. Aaron seemed to have figured out Lafayette's attempt to ease him back into pleasant conversation. He let it happen, fiddling with the sickle that Lafayette had put on the floor before him.

"I am unique, I'm told," he replied half-heartedly.

"You rather are..." Lafayette responded.

"How do you take people?" he asked, suddenly, curiously.

"I stopped doing it personally a while ago. Too many people and animals and plants due to die at the same time. I can't be there to escort everyone personally... much as I'd like to," Lafayette admitted.

"Don't tell me you've stopped doing it personally completely," Aaron frowned.

"Why is that then?" Lafayette avoided answering that.

"I am about to tell you how to do your job, I don't think you want to hear that," Aaron scoffed. Lafayette frowned.

"No, I want to hear it," Lafayette insisted.

Aaron regarded him with an odd look for a moment, then averted his gaze, letting it wander upon the dark and wet cave they were in. It wasn't exactly inviting, but he figured this was only one part of the realm of the dead and he could just be sitting in an unpleasant looking one, still sitting atop the broken poker table, cards were strewn about behind him. He looked around. He noticed the carrier had long gone. He wondered when it had disappeared on them and whereto. He was rather curious about it, especially since it almost appeared as though Lafayette was able to talk to it.

"It's the personal touch. As far and as little as I have seen and known of you, you appear rather detached," Aaron began, though Lafayette raised a brow.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"How can you tell?" he asked, curiously.

"Please, if I can sense all of Alexander's moods without him being visible to me, I can sense and read yours. Your expressions, movements or eyes are not hidden from me. I have no trouble reading them like a book. You appear to be utterly detached from... well, I suppose 'everything' is the right term. Your work, your state of mind, your health- all of them seem to be in a state of disrepair. However, as I do not know you intimately in any sort of way, this was only a... mildly educated guess. You may disregard it as you please or take the advice to invest yourself in your work once more. Alas, I could not force you to do anything you do not wish to do yourself," he stated quite simply. Lafayette was quiet for a moment, a heavy silence between them.

"You speak to me like you believe we are equal," he noted, simply noted.

"Is there any problem with that? I have long stopped believing gods are in any way superior. Anyone meets Death eventually. The gods aren't exempt from that rule, so why should I believe in their superiority?" he hummed.

"I am exempt from the rule," Lafayette corrected.

"You _are_ Death. You aren't exempt from the rule. You've just bent it a bit and found the only loophole," Aaron rolled his eyes. "Gods are just like mortals. They live their lives, at some point they die, and they're forgotten. One quicker than the other, but I'm not here to count grains."

"You are rather... stuck in that view... Seeing you now, I can hardly believe the fear I had found in your eyes upon seeing me," Lafayette admitted.

"I fear what I don't know. That's why I try to learn as much as possible. So I do not have to fear more than I do. I had preconceptions of you, simply because of stories I had been told, but stories I did not know where true. The notion that they were true were frightening, to some degree. But most preconceptions have been expelled from my mind as of now. You are no more a threat than Alexander is to me," he said, calmly. "Don't tell me my views offend you."

"Can't you tell?" Lafayette smirked.

"I am not much of a mind-reader. And I don't suppose you could lend a hand with such abilities," Aaron dared to smirk in return and Lafayette huffed playfully.

"Lend a hand, I can't believe you'd stoop to that," Lafayette snorted.

"What, you think I'm," he paused and let the wings on his sandals carry him to above Lafayette's head, "Above it?"

And Lafayette laughed. Truly and freely laughed. Laughed like he had never done since... since... goodness, so long ago. So long ago he can barely remember the reason he had laughed so freely, the joke. He could only remember that Alexander had been behind it. And, really, looking at Aaron, clad in Alexander's cloak, with the same mischievous glint in his eyes and a lightheartedness to his voice and demeanour if he so chose, they were really not much different. For a brief moment, even, he thought it was Alexander who was there with him, making him laugh like old times.

"Goodness, have I missed this," Lafayette laughed. Aaron raised an intrigued brow.

"What? A good bad joke? Honestly, we should have met earlier. There's a dozen I could throw at you," Aaron grinned.

"No, well, yes, just... You are so much like him. So much like Alexander. And you even manage it in another language than your mother tongue. Splendid!" Lafayette laughed.

"Huh? Another... Oh, we were-"

"Speaking in Qjuanjoith the entire time? Yup," Lafayette smiled.

"Huh... So much for a _dead_ language," Aaron joked and Lafayette laughed loudly and freely again.

"You are so much like him. It's lovely, very lovely," Lafayette smiled. Aaron fell quiet.

"Why... why did you never visit him then? You missed him a lot, I can tell... and he's the last one of your friends who's still alive..." he muttered, floating back down onto the broken poker table.

"I... I couldn't have... I know he will die soon... He had lost all his worshippers, and now it's only passing time, his fading powers as he uses them, that's killing him. He is slowly killing himself the more he stays alive... what a paradox... I... If you call this a state of disrepair, I won't dare imagine what I would look like if I had continued to be close to Alexander and him then dying, with me knowing all along..." Lafayette sighed, looking down at Aaron, surprised to find complete and utter understanding in his eyes. "Selfish, I know, but I would fall apart at the seams."

"I think I understand," Aaron nodded, "While... While I don't feel anything at another's death, I... I know that if I were in your place... it would take its toll on me, too..."

Lafayette was quiet for a moment. He looked away, straight on, something turning in his mind, being mulled over, the thought evaluated for the purpose, timing and form.

"I heard you've... lost sight of Alexander?" Lafayette asked, very careful of his wording, tasting the words cautiously before daring to push them out for Aaron to hear. Aaron nodded.

"I have... has, uh, Montague told you about that?" he asked. He felt a sudden sort of anxiety creep up on him.

"Not quite. I've come to that conclusion seeing as... I haven't heard news of Washington being hurt yet," he replied carefully.

"What do you mean?" Aaron narrowed his eyes suspiciously, dread building up in his stomach.

"Washington has Alexander," he replied.

Aaron's eyes widened, the world around him halting as he processed this information. Washington, the Judge, the god of Justice, had Alexander. It made sense now, it all made sense now. Why Alexander didn't return, why he couldn't find him anywhere in the realm of mortals. Aaron had been looking in just the wrong places. All the wrong places. He had never once thought that Alexander, god of WIND, the freest spirit of any realm, could ever be held captive, trapped by another god. Much less the god of Justice. Much less anyone. No, no one could have trapped him, caught or captured him. It wasn't possible.

"No... No... No, no, no!" Aaron growled in disbelief, eyes wide, a certain anger boiling inside of him.

"It's true. Montague saw it, all of it," Lafayette said.

"I... how do I get there?" he asked with intensity, getting up and floating to Lafayette's face, his intense stare startling Lafayette. "Is he protected? Who do I need to break to get to him?"

"He's..." Lafayette shook his head quickly to shake away the surprise, "He's not guarded. There's almost always gonna be a bunch of gods around him, but they will be your least worry. His palace is west of Thomas', which is... north of Alexander's. Big palace, looks like an Elsyaen courthouse, can't miss it," Lafayette said and Aaron nodded, ready to bolt and escape the realm of the dead. Lafayette barely grabbed him by the cloak and pulled him down to eye-level again.

"What?" Aaron snarled his anger boiling, seething inside of him.

"Be careful. You're not due to die today, don't make me take you early... Don't be irrational," Lafayette advised, calmly. He knew the passion with which the anger glowered and boiled and seethed and burned within Aaron exceeded even that of the very sun itself, perhaps double of what it was. Lafayette assured that Aaron was still carrying all the artefacts, assuring also that Aaron pulled on his hood over his face and then he let him go.

He watched quietly as Aaron disappeared through the water of the pond, into the realm of mortals. Lafayette sighed, turning around to see his carrier Montague look at him and shake his head.

"You wish to tell me something?" he asked his carrier, who only continued shaking his head with exasperation at him. "I can't help it... he was... so much like Alexander..."

Montague squeaked something in return, scurrying over to the poker table, beckoning for Lafayette to get up as he inspected the damage.

"Die? Today? No, not him. He will not die today. Only over my dead body," he said with a grin and Montague let out a groan-like squeak. "What? I prefer being the Death of him personally."

Montague shrieked at him with a disgusted glare and threw a piece of the table at him, hitting his head, while Lafayette hollerred in honest, free laughter, that made Montague grow silent in surprise. Montague squeaked curiously.

"He's so much like Alexander," Lafayette answered, "I see so much of Alexander in him and I can't help but... want to help..."

Montague squeaked again.

"No, this is not a rebound... But at least when he dies he will stay here... unlike them..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like the puns? I was brainstorming them for days! Which one was your favourite!


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... 200 thousand... I can't... I can barely believe it... That's a fucking lot! 200 thousand fucking words! And it's still far from over! Fuck I cannot believe this...

"Aaron."

It was quiet, for a brief, surprised moment after impact. The water splashed, waves rippling across the surface as a breeze hushed through the trees around, and a moment later, the water was still yet again, as if it had never been touched. The quiet moment lay heavy in the air between everyone.

Suddenly, there was shuffling and ruffling of leaves and the muses began rambling at each other in confusion.

"Did you hear that?" one, Charles, maybe, said. The other muses mumbled in agreement.

"A voice. Where'd it come from?" another, Peggy, asked. James and Hercules froze to the spot, not wanting to be spotted by the other muses - although they really had barely anything to fear from them, they would be outnumbered, which was a prospect of little attraction for them.

They tried to keep themselves relatively hidden behind the bushes, but it did not last for very long.

"Hercules!" Charles gasped quietly, with wide eyes. "And- goodness." Charles kept his voice low and quiet, surprised and afraid.

"What's that, Charles?" Samuel asked from a bit away.

Charles froze on the spot and looked between the startled pair and Samuel, who was approaching him. With a last terrified and urgent look, he slapped the branches into Hercules' face to cover them up and turned to Samuel.

"A pheasant! It startled me, that's all!" Charles exclaimed, quickly throwing more leaves onto the pair, which was now utterly confused. "What was that thing falling into the pond, though?" he distracted.

"Can't tell for sure," John grumbled, "But it looked... humanoid. Human, maybe."

"How would a human fall from the sky?" Samuel asked with a scoff.

"Maybe," Peggy began with a suspicious tone, "No ordinary human."

"You can't mean..." Charles gasped.

"That 'most beautiful being'. What was his name?" John grumbled.

"Aaron," Charles provided helpfully. "Do you think it was him?"

"Who else would fall from the sky? What sort of mortal would that be to fall from the sky? You saw Fatum's tapestries, you know what he has accomplished. He can fly, have you forgotten?" John said, his tone sour and horribly angry, but constrained and restricted. Charles flinched at the tone and sunk in on himself.

"Y-yes, but... why then would he fall?" he asked and Peggy perked up.

"That would be weird. Then again... where did he fall from?" Peggy asked.

"He fell straight into the pond, so..." John said, pointing up, "Sun?"

"It looks... weird..." Charles mumbled.

"What do you mean it looks- You're right, it's got a different colour," Samuel hummed, "Huh, look at that."

"What happened up there?" John growled to himself, brows knit in confusion.

"I can only imagine... And I don't like what I'm imagining," Peggy scowled.

"What are you imagining?" Samuel asked, curiously.

"That the most beautiful being stopped by for a visit with our god of the sun and- Did something. Might explain the loud sound we heard earlier. What must he have done?" she wondered aloud.

"Should we do anything?" John sounded like he was already done with the subject, immediately dismissing the idea himself.

"I think it might even be our duty to do something," Samuel pointed out, "He is wanted by the Judge for trial."

"That he is even going to be given a trial is a miracle of patience. Were I the Judge, I would have gotten rid of him the moment I got him close enough for a clean strike. What with all the trouble that mortal put the gods through," Peggy said with disdain in her voice.

"Then why are we bothering with it?" Charles asked, "We're muses, we have hardly anything to do with the gods' business."

Hercules squinted in suspicious confusion, him and James frozen to the spot. What was Charles doing?

"Charles, this is no time for your poor jokes," John grumbled. James noticed that grumbling was one of the only things John seemed to do and he had to wonder why that was. Charles frowned, that statement hurt, and he quieted himself, leaning back against the bushes that Hercules and James were quietly hiding behind and crossing his arms over his chest protectively.

"John's right, I can't believe it, but you have to stop joking over matters like this," Samuel said, his tone kinder but his words harsher, whipping across Charles' mind with pain and he sunk further in on himself. "There could be a serious reward for us if we get him to the Judge." Charles didn't respond, he remained quiet even as Samuel became somewhat irritated at the lack of a response to this prospect. He raised a brow at Charles and then, as if realising something, smiled and laughed. "Oh, I see, you're trying to set me up for another joke again, eh? Well, not today, Charles."

"I wasn't-"

"Never mind your jokes, though, we should honestly tell the Judge we found the one he's after," Peggy interrupted.

"Yes, but then what?" Charles voiced his concerns. "He fell into the pond, straight into the realm of the dead. How would even the Judge get him out of there into his courthouse?"

"Charles, I appreciate your jokes, but don't make ones that undermine the Judge's power. He can command Lafayette to hand him over, like that," Peggy snapped her fingers.

Hercules grew uncomfortable. Had they always treated Charles like this? He didn't remember no one taking him seriously before. Must have been a recent development. It made Hercules very uncomfortable and wish he could do something. But he had to stay hidden. He knew James had left his moon staff in Aaron's care.

"I... I don't know, I sort of... doubt that... Lafayette's never been one to take orders, even less so from the Judge. I-" Charles tried.

"Charles, no, could you please stop? John isn't constantly spouting tragic quotes or depressing phrases, you don't have to try and be funny all the time," Samuel said, sternly so and Charles flinched.

"I'm really n-"

"Quit it, I said," Samuel's tone was harsher this time and Charles flinched a step away, back into the bushes, just another half-step away from Hercules and James who were both equally confused.

James, in particular, sensed the odd hostility the other muses were displaying towards Charles. The way they were constantly dismissing his input, his opinions, everything he said, really, and the way they so condescendingly claimed that nothing he said could be taken seriously and that all he said was just a joke. James couldn't picture Hercules doing the same to the other muse and, chancing a glance at Hercules' reaction, he concluded that this was a development Hercules had not been here for and was disgusted by. James knew that Hercules disliked his fellow muses, but they had been good friends at some point, and surely Hercules did not want to see one member of the group singled out in mockery and ridicule like this, subtle as it was, it was clearly overstepped and far from lighthearted fun. It was awful and it made James' gut wrench with sympathy for the muse of Comedy.

Hercules felt much the same way about this as James and as James had guessed he would feel. He was disgusted by their behaviour towards Charles, a fellow muse. He still felt bitter over the fact that they had been so against his decision to return to being friends with Alexander, that they had so immediately turned on him. But, if memory served him right, as it tended to, Charles had always been the one muse of them all who absolutely detested confrontation, the one who was least likely to pounce on someone's weakness and exploit it. He was very much one for lighthearted fun, a comedy-loving person, little surprise as it might be, him being the muse of Comedy. And his ways were mostly comedic, but he did make a point out of not being funny by force. Forcefully trying to be funny, so Charles had explained to him once, and being funny too often resulted in the exact opposite of the desired effect. Comedy was to be enjoyed, unlike John's single-but-intense-punch-to-the-gut tragedies, in bits strewn about with something serious, or something thoughtful. Comedy did not work without a bigger story, unless it was simple comedy, like puns or slapstick, but he then went on to say that he still preferred building up a sort of story, or at least a buildup behind even the simplest, silliest or most random jokes and slapstick, because that made them all the funnier. Hercules had agreed wholeheartedly, as had the other muses when it was explained to them. So their current behaviour, knowing exactly how Charles liked his jokes, was even more abhorrent, and it was so very obvious that they were doing it just to be malicious. His blood began boiling at the very notion. While Charles was far from the kindest soul there could be, his jokes sometimes becoming rather dark and cruel, hurtful rather than helpful as he usually liked, Hercules still felt compelled to help him

"I'm just..." Charles mumbled, but the others couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Trying your best?" Peggy guessed unimpressed, as though they had had this, or a similar conversation, many times before. Charles nodded but didn't say a word and didn't dare to look at them.

"Your best is, quite frankly, not good enough," Samuel spat and Charles flinched further back, right next to Hercules, who was keeping incredibly still now, as close as the others were. He didn't necessarily want to be spotted. He didn't want to be in a fight with them again and be outnumbered, even if he had been able to dodge attacks and give back just as much the last time when he had been worse for wear than he was now.

Charles opened his mouth to say something but quickly decided against it with a sharp shaking of his head. He glared at the ground, keeping his arms crossed almost protectively over his chest, struggling with the urge to just run away from this situation. He really did hate confrontation. The other muses proceeded to ignore him then, turning their backs to him and stepping closer to the pond, debating what they should do, but without Charles. Charles sighed deeply in relief, his tense muscles relaxing. He slowly dropped down on the ground to Hercules and James and began whispering.

"Hercules, what are you doing here? And why have you brought... James? You are both disgraced, they will attempt to turn you two in if they find you!" he whispered, barely loud enough for Hercules to make out his words.

"We were just taking the long way home. Since when were we at risk of being 'turned in'? No, what I want to know is, why did you keep our presence hidden from the rest and why are they treating you like a lesser?" Hercules hissed back in a whisper, his anger clearly showing.

"I happen to have expressed that I did not share their disdainful opinions of you entirely. That should answer both questions," Charles tone was odd, small and somehow submissive. How long had he been on the receiving end of such awful treatment? Hercules' brows furrowed in anger at the thought. The muses were supposed to stick together. First, his own differing opinions made him an outcast and now Charles as well. But why...

"Why didn't you leave them then?" he asked and Charles frowned and glared at the ground. James thought he might know the reason.

"And go where? My only home has always been with them," Charles lamented, "Where would I have gone?"

"You could have come to me, you know. I'm also an outcast, remember? So is he," and he pointed at James, who waved at Charles almost shyly, "And Alexander and Aaron."

"We're a club of outcasts, is what we are. I'm sure Aaron would have agreed to take you in with us. Makes us almost sound like stray dogs, doesn't it?" James chuckled at the image in his head. Charles looked at him oddly. It was a knowing look. James gulped.

"Aaron... why is his permission needed?" Charles asked, though not with a sceptical, but a genuinely curious tone.

"He sorta runs the palace. And it's our little sanctuary, of sorts. A little safe haven that takes in outcasts indiscriminately," Hercules said as though it was an advertisement.

"I can see that," Charles replied, glancing at James, the meaning behind it did not slip past James, but Hercules remained ignorant to it. "But I... I don't think I could be there. I can't explain it, I'm sorry." He looked incredibly uncomfortable admitting that.

"It's alright," Hercules assured, "We've all had those things we can't even hope to explain. They happen."

Charles was almost at ease at Hercules' words, but there was still something, James could see it in his eyes and he wondered just what exactly had the muses done?

"I... suppose so, yes. You should leave, though. It... it was nice seeing you again..." Charles said, rubbing the back of his neck and getting up, discreetly walking over to the muses, who were still debating.

"I am not going alone to give him the news," Peggy scoffed.

"Well, I'm not going, someone has to look after the pond and see to it that he doesn't sneak past us. What would we look like if we let him escape? We can say goodbye to any reward we might've gotten!" Samuel insisted.

"I am not in the mood to see the Judge. He has been horrible lately," John sounded disgusted and made a face accordingly.

"He has been rather gloomy," Peggy agreed, "That god in a bottle grating on his nerves?"

"Wouldn't you go mad with him around your neck?" Samuel scoffed and rolled his eyes, like what he said was the most obvious thing in the world. Peggy glared at him for it.

"Not the point. Point is, if I am to go alone, I will not go. The reward could be an egglaying woolmilkpig for all I care. The Judge is in such dreadful a mood, it isn't worth it," Peggy huffed, crossed her arms and turned away.

Charles stepped on a twig, its snap startling the other muses to glance at him, then pause and glance at each other with a mutual idea blooming in their heads. Charles already knew what they wanted.

"Charles, you may yet finally find a chance to redeem yourself!" Samuel grinned and dread was building strongly in Charles' stomach.

"Wh-what is it?" he asked stupidly, hoping, beyond all hope, they would discard their idea.

"Go to the Judge and tell him the one he's after is here," John said, mercifully short but it felt like a punch to the gut to Charles.

"Wh-why must I?" he asked, "The Judge will surely favour John over me, he always has!"

"No, no, it must be you. Now, don't question it, it would be like questioning Fatum's tapestries, unwise and foolish and blasphemous!" Samuel immediately interjected, getting up and lightly pushing Charles backwards with a smile.

"I..." Charles tried but Samuel would have none of it.

"Nonsense, don't spout such nonsense, Charles, you're above that lowly form of comedy," Samuel said, a threat underlying his voice and Charles gulped and nodded briefly, then teleported away, likely to the Judge.

Hercules was freezing and boiling with anger and James found himself experiencing the same emotions, perhaps even stronger still, as much as he felt for Charles dilemma. However, he quickly took note of what had actually just happened and panic began to set in. He turned to Hercules with terrified, wide eyes.

"He will get reinforcements to bring Aaron to the Judge!" he hissed a whisper at Hercules, whose eyes widened comically large in response.

"What was that?" Samuel paused at the sound.

James cursed inwardly. Shit.

 

Thomas fell, he kept falling, feeling the wind push against him harshly as he fell, being hurled away by the explosion of his very own pain. He had scarcely the mind to wonder what might have happened to his sun, the wind pushing against him reminded him of the day Alexander had thrown him about before he had called his name. How Thomas longed to go back to that time, to start over anew, keep Alexander from going to the Judge, flying to his doom, to assure he had nothing to lie to Aaron about, to keep him close thereafter, love him and cherish him like only he could. Oh, how he wished for his fate to have turned out different. But there was no arguing with Fatum, who decided his fate.

He yelped, he screamed, there was something in his head, something in his head, he clawed at it, screaming, trying to get it out, but there was nothing he could do. The crown was stuck in his flesh, tangled in his hair, he was bleeding and as he tried to rip it off his head his fingers got caught in the thorns strewn about and he shrieked in pain as the thorns dug deeper into his flesh and he ripped his fingers out of the thorns, his fingers maimed and bleeding horribly. He let go for a moment, and even more of- he didn't know what- invaded his head, planted itself into his mind and began clawing from the inside out. It was screaming, screeching, shrieking in his head and his ears began to bleed, and his eyes began to bleed. But when he touched at his eyes with the back of his hands, he found there was no blood on the back of his hands.

And then he crashed. Right into the heart of the Winding Woods.

Whatever it was that was in his head, swirling and clawing at his mind, grabbing and tearing, it became clearer, its shrieks became clearer and he could understand them.

He gasped and it felt like there was something stuck in his throat when he heard voices, shrieking at him in his head.

_Oh, if it isn't you! The liar. The traitor. The stalker._

"Who are you-" he gasped out, his voice hoarse from screaming, barely audible. " _Where_ are you!"

_He thinks he is a threat, he thinks he has appeal._

"What are you talking about- Answer me!" Thomas yelled best as he could with his broken voice.

_It's all your fault._

"Wh-what?" his breath came out stuttered, his heart pounding in his ears at the deafening volume of the things in his head.

_You refused to tell him the truth._

_You are a liar._

_A traitor._

_A stalker._

_A coward._

_You could have had him, had you told the truth._

_Now he is taken, and you..._

_You get what you deserve._

_You brought this upon yourself._

_It's all your fault._

_It's all your fault_

_It's all your fault._

_It's all your fault_

_It's all your fault._

_It's all your fault._

_It's all your fault_

_You are the only one to blame for your pain._

_You are to blame._

_He despises you._

"No, he doesn't!"

_He despises you_

_Rightfully so._

_We know what you've done in your dreams with him._

_You are truly disgusting._

A horrible choir of malicious laughter and cackling sputtered forth and Thomas tried to cover his ears, but the cackling just became louder in response. Tears welled up in his eyes at the pounding pain the screams carved into his mind. He felt sudden shame, he knew what they were screeching about in his mind, but he wanted to deny it.

"It's not true," he tried, clawing at his head, another painful attempt to rip off the crown.

_What isn't? That you dream, in sleep and wakefulness, of capturing him, keeping him away from who he loves, keeping him for yourself?_

"You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong!" he gasped and shrieked, snapping his eyes shut in a futile attempt to shut out the screaming voices, but they wouldn't be shut out.

_You dream, in sleep and wakefulness, of taking him, in all the ways that would defile him, in all the ways he would, in reality, scream his hatred at you, but in your dreams you made him love it._

"I never-"

_Dreams do not lie._

_And your dreams, oh, he would hate you if he knew, even more so than he does for your lies._

_Your betrayal._

_Your cowardice._

_He hates you._

_Loathes you._

_He wishes you dead._

"That can't be true, I- I wanted to protect him, I only wanted him safe! I-"

_No. You wanted him for yourself. And you betrayed him. In your delusions. He hates you. And it is entirely your fault._

"No, no, no," Thomas gasped, falling to the ground, tears mixed with blood rolling down his cheeks as he grasped as his hair, "I didn't mean to-"

_It is your fault._

"I didn't mean to-"

_It is your fault._

"I didn't mean to-"

_It is your fault._

"I didn't mean to."

_It is your fault._

"I didn't mean to."

_It is your fault._

"I didn't mean to."

_It is your fault._

_There is no one to blame but you._

 

Hercules and James' eyes widened and they cursed inwardly. Screw it, Hercules thought, it wouldn't matter if they found them now or a few moments later, it would make no difference. He abruptly jumped up and into view of the other muses while James, startled as he was by Hercules' sudden moved, remained as still as a froze statue.

"Hercules!" Samuel immediately gasped upon seeing him, his face contorting into utter hatred and anger, James swore he could _hear_ him seething in anger. "You disgraced traitor! How dare you show your face again!"

"Good to see you too, Samuel," and he punched Samuel square in the face, knocking him out, "John, Peggy. Haven't seen you in a while, how have you been? I hear Charles has a less unfavourable opinion of me than you- fascinating, really, and the fact that you treat him like a lesser for it, shame on you. Has no one ever told you to respect another's opinion even if it differs from your own?"

James winced at the harshness with which Hercules spoke. He was rather unfamiliar with such harshness in Hercules, had barely ever heard it before and it did not fit well, he found, and it was certainly eerie to think that someone as gentle as Hercules could bear such angry harshness in his voice with such ease and scarce struggle. James grew uncomfortable at this and wanted to sink into the bushes, cover his ears and eyes like a child and wait for this to pass, but he couldn't, and he knew this well. Yet, he struggled to get to his feet, some anxiety within him prevented him.

"How dare you show your face here again!" Peggy repeated Samuel's question with a glare that rivalled Hercules', yet he didn't falter even a bit.

"I wasn't planning to, actually. All one happy coincidence," Hercules spat.

"For the record, I find this coincidence rather unhappy," John remarked, sounding vaguely unimpressed or even annoyed. James found this curious. The muses seemed so different, all of them. Of course, the idea hit him, the muses made themselves scarce in the company of gods. He remembered - how could he have forgotten, he wondered - that the muses were always seen as so mysterious beings, appearing and disappearing at will. No god, not even the Judge, knew much about them or their origin or who they were as people. And James only knew one of the muses well. Hercules. And seeing the muses interact now - they were all so different, personalities colliding with each other, he truly wondered how such petty fights and arguments had not let to their downfall as a group earlier. Had there been a link that he, and everyone, had been previously unaware of that glued them all together? That, if one left, everything would fall apart? If that were the case, this tension, this hostility strewn and stretched across an otherwise tranquil scenery as this, the waterfall and pond (no matter what each led to), could all have been caused by the first disagreement. Which was it? Was it Hercules leaving the group in favour of being friends with a disgraced and dead god? Now that he thought about it, no wonder other gods and divine beings detested them all so. 'Disgraced' is a horrible word, it was really no wonder the hostility wouldn't die down in the slightest. He had never quite realised this before now, and now he wondered how this could have eluded him for so long.

"Noted," Hercules rolled his eyes as Samuel groaned on the ground, slowly coming back to.

"What are you doing here," Peggy spat again.

"Well, we weren't doing anything, not much at least. Just walking home, taking the long route, talking, being pleasant, you know, something that, by the looks of it, you lot tired of decades ago," Hercules scoffed in return. Peggy glared at him.

"Well, that would be your fault," John's tone was forcefully dry, James noticed, "You were the one who started and left us for... a dead. Disgraced. God."

James frowned as he heard the way John said this. It sounded... angry. Accusatory. But also... sad, disappointed. 'How could you' would be the phrase James associated with this tone, but a rueful one. Longing, perhaps as well? It made little sense to him, and yet also revealed so much to him, this conflicting with each other, leaving him dizzy in an attempt to sort out what he could safely conclude.

"I would not have left had my decision not been questioned with such hostility," Hercules growled and James sunk in on himself at the sound. This was entirely too uncomfortable to him and he got the feeling that he should not be witnessing this conversation.

"What else were we supposed to do! How else could we have even attempted to steer you away from him! And now you are living in the palace of a dead god- _that should be his grave!_ " Peggy spat back at him.

"What you could have done was accept my decision to not treat him as though he were an enemy, which he is not. That was literally all you had to do: Accept my decision and not condemn me for it. Yet you have failed both of these and in the long run, you have turned on Charles as well!" Hercules flailed his arms about in his anger, restraining himself with this and not attacking the other muses like Samuel, who was still only slowly coming to. Hercules must pack one heavy punch, James realised with anxiety. How strong was this otherwise gentle being?

"Charles is at risk at becoming as miserable as you, we are keeping him from it," Peggy scoffed and James couldn't help but raise a brow at that in disbelief.

"You... You think you are helping?!" James asked, realising a second too late that he said this out loud. His sudden outburst of disbelief certainly startled and silenced the muses around him. He jumped up suddenly, fearing that if he remained, or attempted to, hidden that some ill fate would befall him, little sense that his logic made in this very moment.

Peggy and John stared at him like he had an arm growing out of his mouth waving at them and he was tempted to check if such was the case, but he remained frozen under their surprised gaze. Hercules was less surprised, though he had this look about him that told James Hercules had momentarily forgotten about James' presence and/or existence. This was fine with him, of course, it merely amused him how somewhat dumbfounded Hercules managed to look. It was a look he found often on Hercules' face, but James had not before been the one responsible for bringing this look onto Hercules' face, it had always been Aaron in the past, with all his feats and accomplishments, and James also felt sort of accomplished at having brought this look upon Hercules. It was, perhaps, a bit silly, but he wished to indulge in the amusing thought for a moment.

John seemed to be the one who caught himself quickest, though James had a split-second of a moment to study his look and discern what it meant. John had looked most taken aback by his presence and sudden reveal, not surprised, more startled, and James could have sworn there had been a fraction of fear glancing across those eyes. But that fear, the moment John had understood the emotion he felt, had been quickly suppressed under... something. Which was then in turn hidden away. James did not understand the look entirely, but he had an idea, and he found it intriguing. He came to the conclusion that John feared him, or wanted to - the thought was silly - impress him thereafter? Or impress something upon him, James wasn't entirely sure. He stored the thought away for perhaps a later occasion.

"Yes, we are helping him," Peggy spat, fearlessly, "Or do you really think we would let him desert us like Hercules!"

"Desert you? I don't think that's the right word. He left before things could escalate between all of you, don't you realise?" James barely believed they saw none of this, even Hercules seemed surprised at what James said. They couldn't be serious.

"This is something far beyond what you know, Moon-"

"Oh, no, you do not get to play the 'I forbid thee thy name' card," James interrupted Samuel, who has now fully come back to and was snarling at him from the ground, "And I have witnessed more than enough to judge the situation, I very much do believe so."

"You know none of us, what makes you think you know any muse in such a way?" John asked, arms crossed, seriously unimpressed. James' look rivalled and challenged John's. James pointed next to him, where Hercules stood, still dumbfounded.

"I may not know everything, but I do believe I have seen enough to say that what is happening here... it is not healthy, for any of you. Not Hercules, certainly not Charles, and not you. If you turn on each other like this, simply because one of you does not share the popular opinion, then I fear you will not survive as a group much longer," James' tone was soft. He wanted them to understand this, all of them, and he wanted to help. In this case, though it was difficult, he would take no sides. He could see they were all at fault, refusing to talk and accept each other. This was a major problem for them and he wished to make them see.

However, before any of the muses could respond, a gate in the sky opened, seven gods spilling forth and, in that exact same moment, Aaron dove back out of the pond.

Aaron had barely a moment to notice James and the muses, let alone the gods that were glaring and snarling up above at having finally, finally found him.

Aaron's eyes widened in surprise the moment he felt the seven gods' presence grew closer, and he could barely chance a look upwards, at that very moment he was surprised. James saw immediately that the gods sent were all gods of war. Different forms and ways of waging war, but war nonetheless and they were accordingly strong.

Before James knew what he was doing, and he was really just running on poor instincts at this point, he jumped at the gods as they restrained Aaron, who was, in turn, kicking out and biting at them whenever he got the chance, but they managed to hold him still enough. James jumped at them and attempted to break Aaron free. A moment later he was joined by Hercules, though he scarcely noticed this. With combined effort of the three of them, they managed to kick away one of the gods, though another was quick to take his place.

What James didn't account for in his poorly strategised plan were the muses. It took them a moment longer but, eventually, they jumped James and tore him away from his attacking the seven gods of war. Though the gods of war had a moment of trouble with Hercules, after the muses had successfully restrained James, they could shake him off more easily.

Aaron was still kicking and screaming, demanding to be let go of, demanding to know where they were dragging him to, as they hauled him upwards, into the realm of the gods.

"Where are you dragging me to! You vile vermin, let go of me!" he snapped and spat into the face of one of them, uncaring for the consequences. The god in question snarled at him and lifted his hand as if to punch and beat him, but another noticed this and kept him from it, then turned to Aaron with a hateful glare.

"You are to be brought to the Judge. You are to be put on trial. Be grateful, mortal, that he is so patient, many of us would have loved to annihilate you ourselves," the god snarled and Aaron scoffed.

"Oh, I bet you cruel creatures would have loved nothing more than indulge in your petty arrogance and superiority complex!" Aaron snarled, then processed the other part of what the god had said, "The Judge, you say? Oh good, I got a bone to pick with him." With that, he began thrashing about, flailing, kicking. He was too petty to make this any easier on them than he had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting pretty serious!


	49. Chapter 49

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, summer vacation is so nice; I can lay in bed all day (IN THE SWELTERING; MELTING HEAT OF THE SUN! FUCK YOU, THOMAS!) and write (with almost zero inspiration most of the time. THANKS FOR NOTHING, MUSES!)

Hercules and James, fighting the other muses off of themselves, panicked as the seven gods of war carried Aaron, thrashing and kicking and screaming, biting and spitting, through the gates into the realm of gods. Hercules had knocked Samuel out again while James was shoving Peggy into the pond and kicking at John, who was trying to restrain him but was doing so rather poorly. James knew he had the superior strength in theory, but he was not practised enough in the art of battle or fight for it to make much difference. In the end, Hercules picked up John and threw him at Peggy, who was struggling to get out of the pond, and they both met the water again with an undignified shriek.

And then Hercules and James followed upwards into the sky, Hercules teleporting to the gate and James running, sprinting atop the light to reach it as Hercules had before it closed to them and they would have to summon it again, wasting precious seconds of their time, the little time they had left.

 

Aaron was brought into a courthouse. He recognised the architecture the moment he laid eyes on them. It was a courthouse very similar to the one his parents were executed in front of. Lafayette had said it would look Elsyaen, but that was not right. The god of Death had not been in the mortals' realm for a long time, though, Aaron reasoned. The only thing missing was the statue of the Judge above the entrance to the house. It wouldn't need it, being the Judge's personal courthouse. In Aaron's realm, the statue above the courthouse was simply a stand-in for the Judge, watching the proceedings of every trial. Aaron had always found it rather - how to call it - crude and lacking in truth, an attribute he detested in people, lying. For the statue of the Judge above the entrance of a courthouse was to symbolize justice, a thing so rarely found in courthouses, Aaron found. Every judge he had ever known, most of them nobles even, were corrupted, biased and very easy to bribe with money and promises of fortune by those who could afford it.

He had not seen a Markon courthouse in ages or a Markon city at all. He felt some nostalgia creep up on him as he remembered the small house, though it was more of a hut or shack, he had grown up in. His grandmother at the spinning wheel, him spinning by hand by the tiny fire, barely keeping them all warm in the terrible, terrible cold of winter. A spark of longing went through him, a soft longing, like gentle tug, for a moment longer of those times. Though terribly cold and dreadfully crowded his childhood home had been, his grandmother, though often just as cold as the winters that befell them, had taught him things of life that he still knew as true to this day. She had never lied to him, always told him the truth, as often as it stung. But it taught him that she held enough regard for him not to lie to him, unlike his parents who had attempted to draw the world with sugar for him to see, whereas his grandmother had shown him the ugly and had taught him the difference between what was ugly and what was beautiful. He appreciated her greatly, and he wished he could have visited her in her cell before she had died. If she even had died in that time. She would be dead now, no doubt, but there was a sliver of doubt within him of what he had been told. He had been told his grandmother had died sick in the cell she had been kept a prisoner in, but he had a hard time believing that. He knew, by the stories his grandmother would tell him of her past, that she knew every way out of every prison cell, and was always equipped for it. She had been a bit of a troublemaker (she had said this with a laugh, emphasizing the 'bit' with layers of irony and Aaron, who had at this point heard at least a hundred stories of her mischief in youth, understood well and laughed with her at her ironical undermining of her title in her youth) and had ended up in prison more often than she could count - Aaron had been impressed that she could count at all, since he couldn't have fathomed where she had been taught this in their poverty. He was convinced, to this day, that she had managed to escape the prison, she had had to.

He shook his head, this was not of matter now. What mattered now was that he kept calm, carefully cultivating his boiling, furious anger inside, growing it tenderly so it may explode with a volcano's force to destroy all that need be destroyed by it. Which would be a lot.

As he was guided (shoved) through the entrance of the courthouse, he took in more of the architecture. He wondered for a moment why the Judge had chosen old Markon architecture for his courthouse, but then again, there were odder things in the world. For example, a mortal standing in the court hall of the god of Justice himself. Aaron had never been in court before, never in his life had he been witness to a trial, or stood on the stand to defend himself or be defended. He had read much of the judicial system of his kingdom and of others', but he lacked the personal experience to make much of the laws and proceedings listed in the books in Alexander's extensive library. At this moment he almost wished he were back in Alexander's palace, caring for the woolmilkpigs, tending to the gardens, read through the entire library, craft and build as Alexander had, finding and learning spells, but he had to be here. But he had to be here. He had to. And he was going to have this courthouse see what it has likely lacked in centuries. Justice.

And this not because he thought the Judge was incapable of passing unbiased, uncorrupted judgement (though a part of him doubted he could), but because of the injustice he had let Alexander know for over thirty years. Aaron could simply not stand for it. His gaze was cold, his lips stretched in a thin line as he was roughly escorted to the hall he should be judged in. As the doors opened, he saw gods sitting in rows along both sides of the hall, leading to the Judge, looming over them all. A small pair of stair would lead Aaron up to the stand, in the middle of it all.

The gods around snarled and called and screamed for his beheading, for his every bone to be crushed, every limb torn from his body, one by one, for his blood to be spilt upon the floor. Insults they thought up with fury, thinking it was wit, were thrown across the hall into his ears, though he paid little attention to the calls, slurs, demeaning insults as he was pushed forwards. The gods intended their words to be piercing, hurling them like stones, but with careful step, Aaron passed them swiftly, not one word from out their mouths to strike him with the fervour and hate as they intended to pierce him like the shards of the silence they had broken.

The seven gods of war shoved him forwards and he calmly approached the stand, flying instead of walking up the steps, causing the gods surrounding him to gasp in outrage and demand his death this very second yet again and Aaron, stepping up the last step to the stand, calmly sat upon the stool that stood there, looking on.

The Judge lifted his hammer and struck it down upon the wood in front of him, a spell from it silencing the gods around. Aaron noticed, with intrigue, that there was a spell keeping the gods in their seats, but no such spell bound Aaron to the stand or the Judge to his place. He figured, with a roll of his eyes and an unimpressed but inaudible sigh, that the Judge wished to kill Aaron himself after he would pass judgement. Same old, same old. He was disappointed, he would almost have expected something new, original. Alas, not everyone can bestow upon him an original plan to kill him. He was rather used to the notion of people wishing him dead, or theirs. There was scarcely an in-between, except with Alexander, Hercules and James. The thought of his friends and lover almost brought a smile upon his lips, but at that precise moment, he noticed something. Something tugging at his mind. Tugging his gaze to the Judge. No. Not to the Judge. To his neck.

There was a phial attached to a silver chained necklace, his gaze was tugged to its very centre, he felt a pull, a path. A path? No... not quite...

A connection.

His eyes widened softly as his gaze was stuck there, feeling something. Something familiar. It was there, so close, all emotions washing over him with a stroke as swift as a guillotine upon his neck. There, within the phial laid upon the Judge's neck, he felt distinctly, laid his friend. Alexander. Aaron felt him distinctly there, his bond tugging at him, giving him to understand what he must do. How he must fight. He knew exactly what he must do. And he was very willing to do it. He willed a thought for Alexander, hoping, beyond all hope, that his bond would carry it beyond the confines of the phial into Alexander's ear to instil hope within his frame.

_You shall be free once more. Held you shall be nevermore._

He hoped this thought with all his heart was carried beyond the phial into Alexander.

He willed his gaze away for merely a moment but knew he could not keep it from Alexander for long at a time. The Judge cleared his throat as silence fell with iron fist upon the gods within the room. He felt an approaching presence and knew them to be James and Hercules, though he knew they would struggle to find him even know, as there were many halls of court.

The Judge looked at him sternly, but professional, masking underneath a smug sense of triumph that had Aaron inwardly shaking his head at.

"Aaron," the Judge called, his voice deep and booming. The other gods shivered with the threat that lay in his voice, but Aaron remained calm, unaffected. "You are to face your trial. You are charged with many crimes, summed up perfectly with 'defying divine rule'. How do you plead?"

"Oh, please, would you elaborate on 'defying divine rule', perhaps? The term is rather broad, I fear, and I would like to know, and for it to be known, exactly what I have done to incur your wrath," Aaron said, calmly, sweetly, though the Judge felt the irony in this statement, he decided to humour him.

"Very well," the Judge said with disdain and turned to his carrier, "Bring in Fatum's tapestries of what he has done."

Sycorax chirped and squeaked loudly, before disappearing from the room, coming back half a minute later with what the Judge asked of it and laying out the tapestries for all to see. Curiously, the Judge began with when Aaron was first worshipped in the palace. Even more curious was the fact that his face upon the tapestry was... not there. It was crossed out and Aaron raised a brow in intrigue. Now, this was interesting.

He had heard of the tapestries woven by the goddess of Fate, Fatum. There were many mysteries regarding this goddess. It is said that she weaves the fate of all with her loom and her own silk, though Aaron was unsure what the last part meant. But he had his very own tapestry, that was odd. The Judge looked over the tapestry with a raised brow as he found Aaron's face was always crossed out. He looked at Aaron, who gave only a shrug in response, and sighed.

"Very well. We shall go over each and every point then. According to the tapestry, woven by Fatum of your fate, your people began worshipping you, for your beauty, since you were 14. In doing so, a large part of the population has stopped worshipping us, the proper gods, and we have lost a lot of worshippers," the Judge said, as if he was reading it from somewhere, though he was only looking at the tapestry, which showed Aaron in his dark room (it was not dark in reality) and people below his window cheering and worshipping in the light of the sun. Aaron raised an unimpressed brow. The Judge moved the tapestry to show more. The gods went wild at this, at which Aaron rolled his eyes, more annoyed than anything. The Judge grabbed his hammer again, smashing it onto the wood, and another spell forced the gods into silence. He continued, "This continued ten years, costing us more and more worshippers along the more. More and more mortals falling prey to your spell. Then, you were brought into our very realm."

Aaron snorted at this. Spell? He almost wanted to say something, how, funnily, he was never shown off to the public, and regular people were worshipping the idea of him, rather than just him. Aaron could sense the gods around him struggling against the spell of silence put on them. He could only imagine the discomfort they must be in, their anger all bottled up, no way of unleashing it upon the object of their hatred. Suffering in silence. Aaron raised a brow in intrigue at the spell, ignoring all that the Judge was saying.

The Judge continued to go on and on about what Aaron had supposedly done, ranging from trespassing (not what he said, but essentially it was) in the realm of gods to treason for merely interacting with Alexander and James. The Judge couldn't seem to agree with himself which was worse, Aaron interacting with a dead, disgraced god, or a treasonous, disgraced god. Aaron wondered what the difference was to the other gods.

However, the more the Judge droned on, the more obvious it became that Aaron was bored and not listening, not even looking at him. The Judge grew openly angry at this.

"How dare you ignore me!" he snapped, "This can cost you your life, mortal!"

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm a bit distracted, because, you see, I have looked for Alexander for quite a while. But just today I found out that you had stolen him," Aaron said, voice too sweet, everyone felt it drip with poison.

Before the Judge could say anything, the doors to the hall flew open, revealing Hercules and James. The gods in the courtroom gasped, the spell of silence upon them broken through a startled slam of the doors against the walls. Aaron smiled and waved at them, Hercules and James' faces twisted in fear.

"You!" the Judge bellowed, pointing at James who flinched back, "You traitor dare and show your face in my court!"

"Not the focus point!" Aaron was quick to intercept, drawing the room's attention to himself once more. "I am merely here to retrieve Alexander. That is all. Once he is back with us, we shall leave and you shall not be troubled by us without prompting."

The gods either laughed and ridiculed or screamed in outrage at him, hurling insults like stones and spears and Aaron sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

The Judge used the silencing spell once more, affecting James and Hercules as well. They gripped at their throat in momentary confusion, followed by utter terror as another spell forced them behind a spell-wall so they could not get close to Aaron to protect him.

"Now, you believe that I would just hand over a prisoner to a mortal like you?" the Judge asked, almost amused. Aaron shrugged.

"I mean, I could get a mortal unlike me to ask you to hand him over, if that's a problem," Aaron said nonchalantly.

"Admirable, that even now, as you face me, you are cheeky. Your gall would anger me if it didn't also amuse me," the Judge spat.

"Well, it helps that you aren't facing me," he replied with a shrug. The Judge's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean, mortal?" the Judge asked, his confusion making place for his suspicion.

"Oh, please, call me Aaron. I'm not much into this 'denying someone's name' thing. It holds little appeal and even less effect and influence," Aaron grinned cheekily.

"My patience runs out fast, Aaron," the Judge spat the name with venom, "Speak."

"Now, Judge, this may come to your shock or surprise, but... To cut it short, I do not fear you and you have yet to face me properly," Aaron said with a simple shrug.

"What does that mean?" the Judge asked impatiently, yet somewhat intrigued.

"My face. You have not yet seen my face, ergo you have not faced me. Ah, and go through the tapestry again, but till today. How about you list all whom I have faced?" Aaron grinned cheekily. The Judge was taken aback, but looked over the tapestry, reading the pictures as though they were a written story.

"Very well, I shall indulge in..." he stopped, "What is this about cursed instruments?"

"Oh, it's how I spent some time distracted, not much, how about you look at and show everyone _how_ I got them. Oh, and afterwards you will find another thing or two," Aaron replied with a shrug.

The Judge looked over the tapestry, as he scrolled it out, the other gods were also able to look at the things Aaron has done and accomplished. Their eyes widened upon seeing the tapestry showing him rip off the hand of the king with the flute, how he killed the queen with the drums in cold blood and vengeance and how he had done nothing to stop the harem from killing the king with the koto. As the Judge scrolled the tapestry out further, the gods saw the temples, the artefacts, but they could not make out what they were or what their purpose could be. They saw him in the Winding Woods, the demons and spirits tormenting him so cruelly, they saw him face and banish the storm hiding the water temple, saw him defeat the beastly, sentient plants lining the temple of life and, at the very end before the courtroom, saw him sit by Death.

The gods gasped in fear as they saw the face of Death in those tapestries glaring back at them with such anger and fury, the very blood in their veins ran cold and their very beings shuddered at the mere notion of being near the god.

"You... you sat by the god of Death," the Judge gasped, eyes wide in surprise.

"And I lived. Nice place, I say. I'd really recommend it. You should go there sometime soon," Aaron said the last part with a snort at his own joke, though the Judge's glare intensified and Aaron grew only a tiny bit uncomfortable under it, merely because it felt like the Judge was only one more comment away from throwing his hammer at him. The more Aaron looked at the hammer, though, the more he kinda wanted the item. It was a strange urge, but one he readily acknowledged, though he put it aside for now for more pressing matters. "Well, now that this little show of my story is over, though, in my opinion, you have missed the best parts, I would like for you to return Alexander to me."

The Judge scoffed, "You have no place to make demands, mortal-"

"I was asking nicely. That was hardly a demand," Aaron huffed, though the grin in his voice brought the Judge's blood to boil.

"Well, then I shall make a demand. You spoke of me not facing you because your face is unseeable to me-"

"Not just to you. It is _unrecognisable_ to everyone. You're not special," Aaron interrupted, "But go on."

Seething with anger the Judge spat, "You spoke of me not facing you because I cannot make out your face. Then why do you keep it hidden behind that veiling spell! Show yourself this instant!"

"I would be careful what you, well, _demand_ for. I hear I have a bit of an... _effect_ on people," Aaron grinned mischievously.

"We are gods, whatever your spell, it won't hold power over us as it had over the mortals you seduced into worshipping you," the Judge challenged and Aaron shrugged while Hercules, utterly terrified, but somewhat angry simply mouthed 'seduced?!' with outrage splattered across his face.

"Well, who am I to deny someone to speak to me most personally," Aaron said calmly.

Aaron gently grasped his hood and gracefully, as though he were an ethereal and divine creature, he pushed it off his head, revealing to all gods his face. The gods gasped at the sight of him, his brilliant beauty shining upon them. Tears pricked at their eyes at his sublime beauty intensified and they felt as though they were blessed to see this mortal standing here, forgetting their incredible anger as their breath was taken away. They were speechless, breathless, unable to form sentences, nor coherent thought. They leaned forward, hands stretching out to touch, but they couldn't. Aaron remained calm, remained quiet, knowing the effect his beauty had on anyone, mortal or god. Even the Judge was taken aback by his beauty, a blush on his cheeks and eyes blown wide and watery, like the other gods.

"Goodness... You really are the most beautiful..." the Judge gasped. Aaron could feel everyone's eyes on him, this time lusting, craving to touch him, but forced back by a spell the Judge had put on them, instead of being held back for their anger.

"I have come to retrieve Alexander," Aaron repeated, calmly, keeping his voice soft and docile, in a way he used to when he had still found it funny that noble men and women all around him would fall to their feet, begging to touch him, which they were forbidden from doing. How he wished he had known back then how his life would spiral out in the end.

"Now, let's not speak of him, dear Aaron, let us speak of yourself. How are you fairing, beautiful spirit?" he asked, a smile on his lips, utterly captured in Aaron's spell of beauty.

"Flattery suits you not and it will not carry you far. However, as you asked so kindly, I shall admit my complaints. I was escorted here by seven gods, who grabbed me roughly and spat their mind into my ears with a cruel spirit. I would have, had they let me, been happy and content to come here without their escort, as I, after what I learned in the realm of the dead, was quite ready to storm your palace to retrieve my friend from around your neck. In fact, they have delayed my arrival," he replied, voice soft as a feather dancing in the wind. A god began weeping, but he paid them no mind.

"Now, please forgive them, I'm sure if they had seen you, they would have known-"

"Yes, if they had seen me, they would have taken pity on me. Perhaps they would have wept at the sight, marvelled, gasped, itching to touch me with gentle caresses... Save your compliments for another, Judge, I did not come to be flattered. And you haven't brought me here for that purpose either, have you? I presume you brought me here to be judged, while I came here, as I have stated and reiterated, to retrieve Alexander from around your neck," Aaron interrupted and the Judge nodded.

"Of course, but how can I judge you, your pristine beauty corrupting my judgement?" he asked, an itching, a longing in his fingers to hold that face and keep it close to his heart. Aaron then gave a smile, the Judge and the court of gods gasping as they were graced with it. The smile was a smirk and malicious in nature, but kept carefully trimmed to appear content.

"Should I then return to having my hood over my head to obscure my beauty, if it distracts you so much, your judgement corrupts?" he asked, tilting his head so slightly it went by unnoticed.

"No! No, please don't!" the Judge and other gods begged.

"Then judge me," Aaron said plainly, calmly and the Judge shook his head.

"I can't," he replied, gasping, "If my judgement brought any harm unto you, who could forgive me?"

"Yet, before you saw me you had planned to kill me," Aaron spoke, still calm and the Judge's eyes widened.

"No, I couldn't do that. Robbing our realm of your beauty- I'm afraid your death would devastate every realm you've visited, robbing them of their beauty. You _are_ beauty, the very essence of it. It would kill Eliza, the goddess of beauty herself, you were so blessed by her," the Judge gasped.

"No, I was cursed. And as I see you cannot judge or kill me, as you had planned, I ask you to give me back Alexander," he said, holding out his hand, palm up.

"What would you ever want with him? With your beauty, any god would be willing to give you their heart, worship you night and day," he breathed and Aaron shook his head gently.

"This, Judge, is exactly why I want Alexander back. He doesn't worship me. I don't need his heart or the heart of any other god. I couldn't give mine in return either way," Aaron replied and the Judge furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What do you mean? Surely you are a being deserving to be worshipped!" the Judge proclaimed and Aaron laughed, everyone in the room grew still and silent as his bell-like laughter fluttered through the room, making their hearts beat faster and blood rush to their cheeks.

"How quite ironic! Wasn't it you who wanted me to be killed for being worshipped by mortals? I seem to remember so," he said quite amused and the Judge looked taken aback.

"Please, forgive me, I see now how wrong I was and how right those mortals were to worship you-"

"They were wrong. Allow me to explain myself. I was found, when I was a mere twelve years of age, by a young king, the king of the kingdom I was born in. He executed my parents before my very eyes to punish them because they couldn't provide me with all the comforts that a king, no, a _god_ would indulge in. You see, this king believed me a god, and worshipped me accordingly, made everyone worship me, brought me to a palace quite against my will to be tended to until he would come to return from a war, as other kingdoms had heard of my beauty and wanted me for themselves. He would return after ten years, to become my husband. I was dreadfully alone, for eight years, with no one whom I knew. Then came Alexander, and he comforted me, as I then comforted him in return. We grew closer, became intimately close friends, and he, with the help of Hercules, the muse of Poetry, and Thomas, the god of the Sun, he helped to free me from the palace, which was essentially my prison," he spoke and the Judge perked up.

"The god of the Sun was part of this?" he asked and Aaron nodded.

"I have lost my trust in him when I felt he was lying to me. He wanted my heart and wanted to keep me himself. Though, now he has lost every chance of his wishes to be fulfilled, as my heart has already been taken by another-"

"Who is this who has taken your heart? You don't mean Alexander, do you?" he took a step back, then sighed in relief when Aaron shook his head.

"No, of course not. However, I shan't reveal my lover's identity, for fear of him being treated... unfairly. Now, please, just hand him over," Aaron insisted.

James then piped up, finding the silencing spell had left him.

"Judge, please, just hand him over and this can all be over," James pleaded and the Judge looked at him curiously.

"I am very aware that you have changed and your loyalties switched, as they have switched to such an enchanting spirit, I cannot fault you, but it appears you need be reminded that you aided me in capturing Alexander in the first place," the Judge regarded him oddly.

Everything was silent. Aaron turned around, eyes wide, and mouthed.

_What?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> James, my boy, you have incurred... the wrath. DUNDUN DUNDUN! DUNDUN DUNDUN! DUNDUN DUNDUN DUUN DUNDUN DUNDUN DUUUN!


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 50. I never, I honestly never thought I'd get this far. Shall I tell you that this is the longest fic that I have ever written? It is! And it's not even done yet! Not even close! Thank you, though, everyone who's been reading this thus far, thank you for your loyalty, your patience, and your overall awesomeness! Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the chapter. It was an absolute bitch to write. However, and quite appropriately so, seeing as it is chapter fifty and thus a round number, is it a milestone I've wanted to hit for quite some time. It will be a bit of a turning point, because a major event will happen here. Now, I've spoiled enough. Enjoy!

Aaron's eyes were wide with shock and disbelief as he stared at James in question. James flinched and Aaron glared at him, then shook his head and glared back at the Judge, glancing at James with a look that said 'We will talk about this'. James gulped. He knew he had incurred Aaron's wrath, a dangerous thing to incur, from his past speaking.

"I'll warn you now, Judge, hand him over, or you will have hell to pay," Aaron glared with such wrath, the Judge and every god in the room flinched and winced.

"I cannot simply release him, gorgeous spirit, he has committed too many crimes against us all and his sentence is far from over!" the Judge pleaded. It seemed so ridiculous to James to see such a powerful god as the Judge be so subdued by a mere glare from a mortal! So subdued, pleading, it was so odd to see.

Aaron's glare intensified with rage, boiling and bubbling inside, waiting to erupt, to burst forth from him like a volcano, he was seconds away from exploding.

"I do not care what he has done. He could have set upon you the plague for all I care! You undeserving lot, selfish and ungrateful. You. Know. _Nothing_ ," he spat, "You do not know who Alexander really is, _what_ he really is! Tell me, Judge, or anyone else who knows, since when does Alexander exist?"

It was quiet, gods were muttering, confused, not knowing what he meant, and the Judge shook his head in confusion and Aaron rolled his eyes.

"What do you mean, beautiful spirit?" the Judge asked and flinched when Aaron shot him a glare at the name.

"Alexander is not to be judged by you. He is above you. He is so much older than you, any of you, older than Death, older than nigh anything. He was amongst the first gods to exist. And I will not allow that, by your ignorant insolence and self-absorbed self-righteousness you will lead to his downfall!" Aaron snarled but the Judge, with pleading eyes, shook his head.

"Sweet Aaron, I cannot simply release him, he has to be punished for his misdeeds."

"Oh and pray tell, what are his crimes? A few harmless pranks? A few well-deserved insults? Or was it him protecting me? A mortal, worshipped for his beauty, bringing you so many problems. Was it?" Aaron scoffed, his look changing into that of disbelief when the Judge nodded. "I can't believe it. Petty bastards. The lot of you. Unhand him now, seeing as your 'justice' was nothing more than undeserved, petty revenge, blown out of proportion!"

"I cannot-"

"Then I'll make you," Aaron snapped, jumping up from the stand, flying and charging at the Judge as he pulled out the shovel first.

The Judge reacted quickly, though not quick enough, barely able to block the strike with his hammer. The gods gasped. Aaron swung for another strike, which the Judge blocked yet again. Then, Aaron struck the ground to the Judge's feet with the shovel and an earthquake rung through the room, shaking the entire courthouse as then a spiked wall of stone erupted from the ground straight into the Judge's face, leaving nasty wounds behind. The Judge smashed the rest of this attack with his hammer, grunting in pain as another slab of stone smashed against him. The power of the spell barrelled through the room much like the earthquake had.

As the attack of stone walls died down a notch, the Judge, noticing that Aaron had put his hood back on and the spell he had been under was gone, he attempted to bring down his hammer upon Aaron's head. But as he struck, there was a blue glow, a blue shine bursting from Aaron, and it manifested into an arm and then into a body. Nae. The Judge gasped at the power the being was emanating, blocking his attack so easily. The spirit smirked and pushed the hammer back, it was obvious it was struggling against the force, but it managed. Aaron used this momentary confusion in the Judge to his advantage and struck the shovel right into his face, the blade of the shovel cutting an eye out. Blood splattered across the floor and onto Aaron's obscured face.

Aaron was tense, his entire body showed no emotion, but instead utter and complete control. James was mesmerized by the way Aaron moved so calmly, but quickly, elegant and gracefully, James was in awe. Hercules clawed desperately at the spell binding him in place, keeping him from Aaron's side, keeping him from helping and fighting alongside him, like how he felt it was meant to be. Aaron's breathing was controlled, yet his heart was racing with the adrenaline of the fight. He fought a grin at the feeling of his lips, he couldn't let himself let loose in this. He knew the hearsay of the Judge's powers. As of now, it seemed false, mere rumour without truth, but he reasoned this could be the Judge wanting him to underestimate him and fight accordingly, or perhaps Aaron had just surprised him and the real battle would begin soon.

The Judge screamed out in agony as his eye hit the floor amongst his blood. He had not been able to successfully put a hit on Aaron, and his anger was flooding in waves.

Again and again, he struck out, put the spirit, Nae, blocked each and every hit, without fail. Somehow it knew where the Judge would attempt to strike next.

After another blocked strike, Aaron gripped the shovel tighter and struck out again, right into the Judge's throat. The Judge fell down, clutching his throat and gagging up blood. Aaron twirled the shovel in his hands and paused, looking down at the Judge who was bleeding and gagging and gasping on the ground, with disdain. He held out his hand, palm up, demanding.

"Alexander. Now," he demanded, voice calm and cool, a chill ran through the hall, all the gods flinching back. They wanted to flee, they were so utterly terrified that Aaron managed to bring the Judge to his knees.

The Judge spat up some blood and gasped for breath, glaring up at Aaron. He found no voice to speak with, his eyes widened at this realisation, and he shook his head, his rage intensified, gripping the handle of his hammer tighter, summoning a spell to the top.

He sprang back up and charged at Aaron with his hammer enlarged and on fire. Aaron's eyes widened in surprise at the fire and he jumped back, dodging as the Judge hurled the hammer at him and even Nae could barely hold it back, the fire somehow burning it. Nae screamed in unfamiliar pain. Aaron quietly gasped, but his hands were looking for the gauntlets. He found them quickly and put them on, the spell on them immediately taking form in him. It turned him to smoke around the Judge, hot smoke that was scalding to the skin and the Judge screamed as he was enveloped in it. The Judge hurled his hammer blindly around, the fire of it only feeding into the smoke, and it thickened around him. He gasped for breath which eluded him. Aaron manifested behind the Judge, grabbed around his neck and pulled him backwards, the Judge fell, losing grip on his hammer for a second, a second long enough for Aaron to make a grab at it, and hurl it into the Judge's face.

The Judge shrieked in pain, the spell behind the scream of such power, it pushed Aaron back into the spell wall, separating him from the other gods. He shielded his eyes against the raging, agonised scream. He knew the Judge was far from beaten yet. Something wet at his feet distracted him momentarily, for only a second, but as he looked down, he found the water level had risen quickly in the room. He looked up, finding that the Judge's scream had cracked the wall behind him and a flood of water was steadily filling up the room. The spell wall made it so that the gods behind it did not come in contact with the water, but the room was filling up and there would be no way out for Aaron. He knew Nae could provide him with a bubble of air, but that would not last for very long, he knew. He spotted the Judge, who was now charging at him with his hammer, hurling it at Aaron, who barely dodged it, and dove down. Nae enveloped him in a bubble of air and he gasped the air in. Aaron looked, it was blurry, thanks to the water around him, but he spotted the Judge again, who was seemingly charging an attack, lightning gathering at the hammer.

Aaron pulled out the bow and pulled the string, an arrow made of blue light and swirling water manifesting the further he pulled it back. He aimed the arrow at the Judge and let go of the string. The arrow swished through the pocket of air, through the water and it parted and hit the hammer in the Judge's hand. The lightning gathering at the hammer reverted onto the Judge, and he screamed out in pain as it hit him instead of Aaron.

The water, parted by the arrow, disappeared from the room and Aaron breathed in the air around him in mild relief, though his entire body remained calm, controlled, his movements calculated.

He put the bow back and pulled out the staff instead. The Judge lay on the ground, wheezing in pain, contorting and wincing and convulsing, blood sputtering from his mouth, surprised fear in his remaining eye as Aaron pulled out the tornado staff and aimed it at him.

Aaron concentrated his whole body, every bit of energy into the staff and he felt the winds picking up all around him, a storm beginning to swirl at the tip of the staff, lightning gathering, clouds pulsating with his steady heartbeat. It took the air from the room and concentrated it into the swirling winds. He began trembling as the power of the staff threatened, for a moment, to overwhelm him and he knew he risked losing control over its power, but he held it strongly, controlled his body, his breathing, his heartbeat, made sure the raw power he was enveloped in from the staff would not take control of him instead of the other way around. The lightning crashed at the end of the staff, the storm brewing beautifully. The Judge came to just in time to be completely and inescapably engulfed in the dark and roaring clouds.

Lightning struck into him and slashed through his sides, his screams of agony echoed through the room along with the roaring, deafening, drumming thunder, drumming off the walls like the drums of war. The lightning pierced his skull, rammed and crashed through his body in a flurry and blinding pain and agony rushed through his body.

A moment, a mere moment later it was over. The storm was over and Aaron lowered the staff to see the god before him. The Judge laid there, gasping, wheezing, sobbing in pain. Everyone in the room held their breath in anticipation. The Judge had dropped the hammer on the other side of the room, where it now lay still, almost innocent. One would never have anticipated the power coursing through the item. The room, sans the sounds of pain, was dead-quiet. Aaron slowly, menacingly, approached him.

The tension increased, as did the disbelieving fear in the Judge's eyes with every step Aaron took in his direction. As Aaron stood before him, looming over him, Aaron stretched out his hand, palm up, expecting. The Judge gulped, his breath coming out in jittery bits.

"You may be of blinding beauty..." the Judge spat with a broken voice, his lonely eye glaring up at Aaron with rage and fear in one breath, "But... you are rotten from within."

"I am aware," was all Aaron said, in his calm, cool, calculated tone, before he grabbed the phial from the Judge's neck and ripped it right from the chain, the bits of it flying to the wet floor. The Judge, humiliated, humbled and defeated fell to the ground at his feet as the phial left his neck. He could not find the strength in himself to get up, barely found it in himself to breathe and groan through the pain. He trembled awfully, the pain from his eye burning especially. He felt the stares, disbelieving, awed, mesmerized and terrified stares of the other gods who witnessed his defeat.

Aaron knew the injuries he had inflicted upon the Judge would leave and be healed in a few weeks, perhaps in a few months time, but seeing him here, on his arms and knees, barely even that, and so utterly and completely defeated, in a pool of his very own, deep red blood, was simply and amazingly satisfying. He felt a desire build up inside of himself to see to it that more injuries and more blood decorated the Judge's body. His lower lip trembled at the thought and he licked his lips but ultimately shook his head, deciding this was neither the time nor the proper place (or audience) to do this, and he should continue this another time. Quite frankly, he feared he would not have as much fun hurting this defenceless sack of a body beneath him, and he turned up his nose as the smell of blood filled it. He turned his back to the Judge, his gaze hitting James and Hercules on the other side of the room. Another bout of rage filled him upon seeing James. He saw in him, for only a moment, another he had to defeat, but he shook his head anew. This was not the time. Perhaps it would never be the time.

James slapped a hand over his mouth as he gasped loudly at the sight before him. The Judge, the king of gods, laid there, defeated, in his own blood as it pooled around him in its awfully aggressive shade of deep red, mixing with the water surrounding him. The same red as any mortal carried within their body. James felt a sick sense of justice, or perhaps a form of equality. This god carried the same sort of blood inside himself as Aaron. There was nary a difference between them, both were so terrifyingly powerful, but Aaron was so much more. He was more powerful, more terrifying, James didn't know whether to be afraid or in awe. Perhaps both would be the answer. But the horror he felt in this moment intensified by ten as he realised this very same wrath would very soon befall himself, and his heart raced in fear at the prospect.

Hercules knew not what to think. He had never before seen Aaron so angry, and yet so utterly controlled. Aaron did not look in any way disturbed, which was in itself a disturbing contrast to the wheezing Judge half-unconscious on the floor in his own blood. His eye laid a few feet beside him, bloody and horrible, blankly and vacantly staring. Hercules felt a shiver run down his spine. No. He shook his head, this wasn't what he had to pay attention to. He looked beside himself at James, and yet again, he didn't know what to feel. James had been the one to help the Judge capture Alexander? He couldn't believe it, and he didn't know what to feel at all. He had grown to like James, nearly adore him, but now? He had become so fond of James, all his odd quirks, had been furious when he had heard what Thomas had done, but now... He just didn't know. He felt utterly conflicted, torn between two or more feelings. He liked James, but this felt like a betrayal. It didn't even register that this had happened long before James had approached them to help them. Everything James had ever done for them, every little thing and help he had offered, felt false and wrong now. Like they had been lied to this whole time. And they really had. So this was why James had been so secretive and paranoid. Somehow, this made Hercules even angrier than he was before. They had been so utterly and completely lied to. He had no words for it, he could barely comprehend it. Everything had been a lie. A lie. A damn lie!

James flinched as he felt Hercules glare at him. He dared to look at him and flinched once more as he saw the anger, but also the _hurt_ in his eyes. He gulped as the guilt grabbed ahold of his heart so tightly, he gasped under the gnawing pressure. The pain in his eye flared up and he gasped anew and put his hand over the eyepatch, pressing down in an unsuccessful attempt to ease the pain away, but it just wouldn't leave. The pain ate at his eye as the guilt ate at his heart. He whined quietly at the combined pain in his eye and heart and he looked away, not daring to meet Hercules' eyes. He couldn't bear the pain he found in them, the feeling of being betrayed and lied to. He trembled under Hercules' hurt gaze and he hoped, somehow, that Hercules may look away, that the scene before them would capture his attention and draw it away from James, but that just would not be. Hercules' gaze was focused on James and he withered under it, shame joining his guilt in eating at his heart.

Aaron took a long look at the phial in his hands. It was light and the glass it was made of felt entirely foreign. There was a little glass plug sealing it shut. He placed his fingers around it, almost gently, and turned it to open, to finally open. He would let Alexander out.

 

Alexander woke with painfully familiar voices surrounding him. With a start, he opened his eyes, but the world was still black around him. But he knew this voice, it had been so long, but he just knew this voice. Aaron. He breathed in relief and longing. He longed to be back with Aaron, in his arms, hold and be held in return, longed for those long nights they would spend in each other's presence, just comfortable silence between them, broken by the occasional joke. How he wished for those days again.

But then his blood ran cold in his veins at the realisation of what this meant. Aaron was here. In the Judge's court.

No, no, no, no, no, _no_!

That could not be, this had to be wrong. His hearing must be off because Aaron could _not be here_. Anxiety was taking over his body, cold sweat ran down his forehead, his breathing came out in brief snaps.

He heard him speak, he heard the Judge. Oh no. He knew the tone the Judge was using. Aaron was on trial. They had caught him. Had Aaron become careless? That couldn't be possible. Had Aaron found out about what the Judge had done? Had Aaron sought the Judge out? Aaron couldn't possibly- Alexander gasped when he felt, distinctly felt the power emanating from across the room, and he knew, somehow, that it came from Aaron. He was stuck in awe at the raw power rolling off in waves from him, and he felt utterly overwhelmed.

And then everything sped up, he felt the Judge move to fight, and fear coursed through his body, he feared for Aaron. He knew the Judge had the power to kill not only Aaron, but to burn his soul as well as his body, and he knew this was one of the worst fates which could befall any mortal or divine being, any being.

He pushed himself, handless as he was, against the glass, hoping against hope that he could break the glass and protect Aaron from the Judge, will the hammer out of the Judge's hands, the only thing that could adequately harness his powers into a concentrated mass. But he couldn't, the glass was as strong as ever, still that mild weak spot at the top that infuriated him, but he could not even dream of breaking it.

To some degree, he felt relieved, as he noticed that the Judge kept fighting. This meant that Aaron was holding up against him. Nothing could kill him, Alexander thought for a moment, he and I are so alike, both of us cannot be gotten rid of. Much like weeds. It reminded him of weeds, on of the more creative insults that had been thrown his way. And it reminded him, with an almost pleasant thought, of his favourite. The dandelion.

Suddenly, a scorching pain ran through his entire body and he screamed in raw agony as it smashed through him, increasing in intensity, growing hot as the sun and cold as the darkest, deepest winter that had ever befallen the realm of mortals. He was freezing and burning up at the same time, his limbs were sore and screeched as though a thousand needles were piercing them simultaneously. Knives and spears with jagged edges seemed to rush through his skin, and he screamed and screeched and sobbed the painful cries that were forced from his throat. It felt like acid was being poured over his legs and face, and hot silver being thrown at his back. His ears were bleeding with the sound of - what was that awful thing? - and he doubled over, gasping and wheezing in agony.

His pains subsided slowly. He gasped and groaned in relief as he felt the pain slowly go away, but never fully leave, which made him convulse on the spot. He desperately tried to catch his breath, but the air seemed to elude him and he gasped, but didn't breathe.

He wanted to be free, so desperately wanted and needed freedom, he craved it. He needed it, he needed to be free from this awful, unending prison. He had to escape. But desperately as he tried, he could not manage. He gasped and pushed himself harsher against the glass.

He needed to be there, needed to be out there, close to Aaron. Oh, how desperately he wished to close this huge gap between himself and Aaron. Tears of longing and the resulting pain escaped his eyes and rushed down his bloody cheeks, mixed with blood.

He something entered his vision, something he couldn't place, but he felt it take him over.  
He wished, so strongly, so intensely, for freedom. But he felt his power drain. All his energy seemed to leave his body, as this bright glow at the edge of his vision seemed to overtake him. Slowly, but surely it did. He felt himself slip, he could barely hold himself together.

There was the pain again, but it seemed so far away, eluding his grasp, as his life, slipping from his grasp like the sands of Time.

And, as light blinded him from above, he felt himself dying.

And the glow from his vision utterly enveloped him.

 

Aaron had opened the phial, James was staring ahead at it, with anticipation and dread. Somehow, he did not know how, he felt what was coming, knew this day would come, and fear build up in his stomach as he watched the scene unfold.

Then, something weird happened. As Aaron tipped the phial over, it was not Alexander who came out of the black phial. The only thing that did come out of it was the tiny seed of a dandelion with its white little puff at the top. It floated gently onto Aaron's awaiting hand, an expression of horror crossing his face, though no one in the room could hope to see it, they felt it, as Aaron's emotions seemed to crash through them as though they were their own.

James felt something leaving him, leaving everyone in the room except for Aaron. The seed fell from the phial, a spark was about to leave it. But before it could settle into Aaron's awaiting hand a single thought crossed James' mind, causing a torturous pain to ripple through his body.

_I did this. I killed him._


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the arc and suffering begin...

Aaron stood there, quiet. Not thinking, not blinking, hardly even breathing. The seed lying atop his hand sat there as quiet as him, with innocence. He stared at it with wide eyes, a blink of confusion settling in them before horrible realisation slapped him and he finally began breathing again, but quickly, rapidly and, though silently, his body moved accordingly. The tension thickened, the room was dead-quiet, as Aaron trembled in its centre.

The Judge looked up at him through fearful, knowing eyes. He knew what this meant, he knew what had just happened. He had felt it, so very distinctly. He had felt it, had felt every essence of Alexander... leaving. Disappearing, he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure where the essence had left to, but it had ceased to exist, he felt this. He felt this so clearly, the absence of something that had become so familiarly close to him, although not favoured. It still hurt him, to lose another one of them, another god from his care. He did not care too much for Alexander in particular, not anymore, but the feeling was not lessened for that fact. Instead, it seemed to have increased in some sense. He felt his own breathing become ragged but less for the strange feeling in his chest and more for the fear he felt, gazing at Aaron's hand. The hand which had rid him of his eye, which lay now on the floor a foot or two beside him.

"No," Aaron whispered. The Judge sucked in his breath and held it. The entire room seemed to hold its breath in anticipation and fear alike. "No," he whimpered. "He isn't..."

Aaron wouldn't dare finish this thought, the very notion made him sick to the stomach, he would throw up, he felt. Any minute, he could, he felt sick. The spell binding the gods around them to their seats and place popped like a bubble, but no one dared to move even a single muscle. Hercules and James stood there in confusion. A tear rolled down James cheek, though he knew not why this was.

"Please, he's-"

"No!" Aaron snapped, the entire room flinched. Gods all around whimpered and were ready to bolt should Aaron's rage fall unto them instead of the Judge who was now in this role.

"Please, spirit, he's-"

"NO!" Aaron yelled, putting the seed back into the phial and closing it, putting it into a pocket in his cloak for safe-keeping. He grabbed the Judge by the collar of his robes and pulled him up so he was almost standing, but his legs hurt too much. He snarled at the Judge with a glare so fierce that it broke through the spell of his cloak and the Judge shuddered out a whimper in response. He closed his remaining eye in fear.

"Please, spirit, listen to me. I implore you, listen. Alexander is-"

"No! No, I said! He is not dead! Alexander can't be dead, he can't be and he isn't! He has lived through too much to be dead! You, you are just hiding him from me somewhere else, keeping him away from me!" Aaron screamed at him and shook him harshly. There were tears building in his eyes. It just couldn't be, it just couldn't be. He refused to believe it. He refused to even entertain the notion, despite the sick feeling in his stomach intensifying, despite the lack of bond he felt. He had felt Alexander's presence before, but now it was gone. He couldn't feel Alexander there anymore, couldn't feel that slight tickling in the back of his mind alerting him to his presence, he couldn't feel the little sparks in his stomach that came from their bond whenever they were near each other.

He had spent over two years with this wonderful little spark buzzing about in his stomach in Alexander's presence, having him blush in happiness at every touch the invisible god would give him. Memories flooded his brain as the pain struck his heart, this impossible truth - he daren't think about it. Memories washed over him, of days spent at each other's sides, practically attached to each other by more than their bond, reading to each other, Aaron asking Alexander things about the world, mesmerized at Alexander's stories, stories of adventure, of pranks gone right and wrong, the beauties and the ugliness of the world in one picture painted by his words. Aaron remembered the nights spent in the same bed, in each other's arms in absolute comfort, a comfort that the precious bed could never grant Aaron. Each night, whenever Aaron would have a nightmare that left him breathless, sweating, gasping for breath and grasping at the sheets in pain, Alexander would be there, awoken by his distress and not letting Aaron out of his arms for anything until he was once more calm and content. Nothing could keep them from each other, nothing. Not until now, but Aaron refused to believe it. He couldn't believe it, because the memories of Alexander holding him close during the night, planting a kiss upon his brow did not let him. Painful tears struck out of his eyes as the memories enveloped him; Alexander holding him, him holding Alexander in return as they watched one of Alexander's storms unravel and boom outside with glorious thunder drumming and lightning slapping across the sky, lighting it up for mere moments at a time in mesmerizing patterns. Aaron had asked Alexander about his lightning before, how he chose the patterns. Alexander had explained to him, quite simply, there was no pattern, he had scarcely any control over them anymore anyway. Weak as he was, he could only summon them with his staff in the first place, but their patterns were always random. Now at least. 'I remember' Alexander had said, 'Back in the day, when I was still properly alive - oh, you should have seen me, and my storms. I could direct them however way I want them to move. I could put them in patterns. Stars, hearts, even faces, just imagine! I could hit upon the earth wherever - and that one time it even led me to discover glass! 'Course, I wasn't the only one seeing that and coming to the same conclusion about it, was a quick girl, picking up on it, that one, but I was the one who created it. I told you, some mortals even worshipped me as the god of craftspeople and artisans. Makes me reminisce, I admit.'

Aaron remembered the nights Alexander had woken, disturbed, from a nightmare, instead of him. The first time this had happened, the first nightmare Alexander had had in Aaron's arms, Aaron had been terrified, had not known what to do. He had cradled Alexander's invisible, crying frame in his arms, had begun crying with him, had held Alexander's head pressed against his chest and had nuzzled his head in the soft hair on Alexander's. Alexander's crying had turned to nearly silent whimpers, muffled against Aaron. This had been the first time, but, although he hadn't _known_ what to do, Alexander had told him the following morning that what he had done had been perfect, the perfect response. Alexander, Aaron felt this, had not felt this loved in many years, too many, if you had and would ask Aaron about his opinion on the matter.

He remembered the day Alexander had surprised him by gifting him a book in a foreign language, and taught him the language and to read at the same time when Aaron had admitted to being uneducated in both, as well as many other things. Neither the king nor the servants had thought to let him benefit from an education of any kind. In the end, he had thought they wanted him stupid as well as docile. Turns out he was neither. Alexander, through his teachings, teaching him all that he did not know, which had been a lot at the time, made him clever, clever and strategic. His perception improved during his time with Alexander, he soon learned to read the invisible god like a book, despite not being able to see any part of him. He felt him, the bond between them and that little spark in his stomach aiding him with telling buzzes until he could anticipate his moods before they occurred.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't stop strangling the Judge. Strangling the Judge, who was gasping for air, his head turning blue as his mouth was pulled open in a desperate attempt to suck in air, his tongue lolling out as his attempt failed miserably. 'It can't be,' Aaron thought with rage bursting through his veins, 'It cannot be, it cannot be, it cannot be!'

Then, to his infinite surprise, prompting him to let go of the Judge's now bruised throat and neck, Hercules put a gentle and careful hand on his shoulder. Aaron, as he let the Judge go, snapped his head in his direction. His hood was thrown back enough for the spell to reveal his eyes. They were blown wide, not in rage, Hercules noted with a gasp and stepped back in surprise, but it was fear.

It was pure, unadulterated fear blown wide in Aaron's eyes, ingrained so deeply in them it could have been what they were made of. The green orbs stared with such utter terror back at him that Hercules took a fearful step back. Had he frightened Aaron? his mind accused of him, but no, nothing in any world could frighten his lover, not even the Judge, Hercules was sure of it, which was why this fear in Aaron's eyes carried terror into Hercules' being.

"Aaron, love, what's- what's wrong?" he brought the question past his lips like it was a dagger slicing its way through his lips.

"He can't be dead, Hercules. Alexander isn't dead - tell me that Alexander isn't dead!" Aaron pleaded with a whimper, and he felt like he was that twelve-year-old boy, cowering in the snow in fear of this awful king looking at him with such a horrible plan for him in his eyes. He felt the same sort of fear he had felt all those years ago. He felt vulnerable, naked and vulnerable to it all, and so abandoned. His heart hurt when he saw the confusion in Hercules' eyes. Hercules brought a hand to his cheek, so unbearably gentle, his thumb tenderly brushing away one of the tears rolling down his cheeks. Aaron began to tremble and squeezed his eyes shut tightly, yet his tears were still pushed out. Dread filled his stomach horribly, he felt sick, it replaced the spot where that wonderful spark had been buzzing about, and he let out another whimper.

"Love, who are you talking about?" Hercules asked gently, so horribly gently, and it struck Aaron like he had been slapped by Hercules' hand. A horrible pain shot through his heart, his trembling worsened, and all his fear found a replacement, replaced by such a horrible burst of blind and furious anger.

The last thing he remembered was white. White, hot anger crushing through his body, his entire being. And then red. A horrible, satisfying red. A crunch. And a scream. His screams. No, his screams. And his tears, and then. Then everything turned blurry and odd. And then there was blue. He couldn't remember what happened next, couldn't remember anything.

But he woke up back at the palace. For a moment, a brief moment, a glimmer of hope let him wish it had been just a dream. A bad, awful, horrible, terrible dream.

But it wasn't, hadn't been a dream. The reality came crashing in a moment after that blissful hope had washed over him for that brief moment. It crashed into him with the force of a comet the size of Alexander's palace.

He did not feel the bond. He did not feel Alexander's presence in the world. And now he realised exactly why. It was quiet.

It was dead-quiet.

Not just the room - his room, his and Alexander's room - he was in. Not just the palace - Alexander's palace. Not just this realm. Everything was quiet. Quiet and dead. He felt it, or rather, he didn't. He felt the silence, felt the lack of... something. A very important something that was supposed to be there. But it wasn't.

The sheets enveloping him where soft, and he cursed them for it. They reminded him of Alexander's skin. Alexander's skin which was as soft as clouds, yet also as smooth as glass would be. And the sheets and covers felt exactly like him. Anger bubbled inside him as he grabbed the covers and flung them off himself, throwing them off the bed into a corner of the room.

This action startled the body sleeping beside him awake. Hercules, Aaron noted absent-mindedly. He extracted himself from Hercules' warm embrace and stumbled out of the bed. Hercules grumbled, still half asleep as he tried to figure out why Aaron had removed the warmth of both himself and the covers from Hercules so rudely.

"Put the covers back and come back to bed, love," he mumbled, "You've had a hard day behind you. I was afraid you actually managed to kill him."

"Kill?" Aaron said, his voice hoarse. He was confused, but his voice was laced with unimpressed boredom, none of which he actually felt. "Who'd I kill?"

"The Judge, almost. Don't you remember? It was... I'll be honest, I was terrified. I almost couldn't get you off him. You tore him apart, limb from limb with that sickle you own. And then you ripped out his tongue... It was bloody and bloody terrifying, love," Hercules explained.

"I... ripped out his tongue?" Aaron wondered, slightly surprised.

"Yes, you said 'For the lies you told, the justice shall be served.' And I..." Hercules was fully awake now, gulping at the aura around Aaron, "I was honestly a bit scared of you for a moment, and the moment you turned to look at me, with all the blood on your face. The Judge... he'll recover. He's a god, it didn't kill him, he'll recover in time, but... I thought... goodness, for just a moment I had thought you'd managed it, managed to kill a god. I was scared of you for a moment, and then you looked at me, bloody, covered in blood... and you smiled. Your hood was thrown off completely, and you smiled at me. And then you blacked out. Don't you remember?"

"I... I don't... I don't remember a thing. I remember everything turned white." Aaron looked down at his hands. They were tainted. He felt it. And it felt good. "And there was red. And there was blue. Nae's blue. What did Nae do?"

"Nae... kept me from you for an hour after you fell unconscious. It... I don't know, it kept screaming at me to back off, screamed it at everyone, it did. All the other gods had fled the courtroom after that. I and the Judge, also unconscious, were the only ones left. It even scared off James. Poor James," Hercules explained. Aaron felt anger bubbling up inside of him again as he crossed the room and picked up the covers.

"Yeah, 'poor James'," he spat, his grip on the covers tightening in anger. Poor James. Poor deceiving, traitorous, back-stabbing James.

"What's wrong, love?" Hercules asked, confused, "Tell me," he stood up and approached his lover, hugging him from behind and putting his head onto Aaron's shoulder, whispering into his ear, "My beautiful love."

Aaron pushed Hercules away and stepped back into the corner he had been facing.

"Don't. Just..." Aaron cowered back into the corner, hugging the covers in his arms tightly and the anger wound up inside him, waiting to be snapped at anyone, anyone at all.

"I'm not afraid of you hurting me, love. I know you wouldn't," Hercules assured him.

"That is not- no, Hercules! That's not it! That is not it!" Aaron snapped, his knuckles turned white as his grip tightened even more.

"Then what is it?" Hercules asked, confused, desperate to understand.

No. There was something different. Something was different about him. Something was off about Hercules. And Aaron didn't like it, not one bit. It made him angry. It was like a reminder. A reminder. A reminder. He gritted his teeth as the anger inside him continued to bubble up.

"Hercules, what happens when a god is forgotten?" he asked with a growl. Hercules was taken aback by this sudden question.

"When a god is- Well, when a god is forgotten by mortals-"

"I don't mean by mortals. When everyone else, other gods and then muses forget a god. What happens then? Not the forgotten god. To the ones who forgot. What happens to them?" he snapped and Hercules flinched.

"I'm not sure what you mean..." Hercules' brows furrowed in confusion.

"If... if two gods were lovers, and one of them died... what would happen to the other?" he asked.

"I... I don't know," Hercules admitted, "I mean... I can imagine that the other god would feel the absence... but I cannot be sure. Never happened to me," Hercules smiled reassuringly.

"How would you know?" Aaron asked. Hercules stopped.

"How do you mean?" he asked in return.

"If you had a god as your lover, and they died, you would never know. You would have lost them, all of them, all memory of them. You say you think you'd feel their absence. What if you were only friends? Would you feel their absence then? Hercules... do you feel an absence?" Aaron snapped.

"I- No? Sh-should I?" he asked. Aaron, with a sigh, let his anger go.

"What do I know," he got up from the floor, leaving the covers lying there and left the room. Hercules didn't know what to think of this outburst, or the meaning of Aaron's words.

A god, forgotten. What did Aaron mean? Hercules was confused about what his gorgeous lover was talking about. He was worried, very much so, in fact. He followed Aaron out of the room, but couldn't find him nearby. He must have disappeared into one of the rooms. If Hercules was unlucky it might even be one of the rooms he was not yet introduced to. A terrible anxiety ate at him at this thought, because Aaron had yet to show him more of this palace, and he was afraid Aaron would never put as much trust into him to do that. This entire palace was a mystery to Hercules. He wondered where it had come from.

He found the doors he knew would lead him to the library, and he entered the room. He searched the many rows upon towering rows of giant bookcases, reaching up into the high ceiling, he was rather intimidated by them, imagining what destruction would come upon this room if one were to manage to tip one over. He really looked at the library, for the first time in the time he has spent here. The paths between each towering bookcase were each incredibly tiny, he did not fit between them and had to press himself to one bookcase and walk sideways to navigate from one side to the other. He didn't know how many bookcases, or how many books there were for that matter. There must be thousands of them, though. It would be very easy to hide between the cases, or on top of them for that matter. Hercules couldn't even see the top of them. It would be easy to hide up there.

Hercules grumbled to himself. There had been something up with Aaron ever since... the incident at the trial, and the trial in general. Hercules' memory was a bit fuzzy about the trial. But he couldn't put his finger on it.

He heard something drop and fall, hitting the floor with a thud. It was nearby, he knew it, he had heard it. He followed the sound and found a book on the floor. He picked it up and examined it. There were some symbols on the cover, but he couldn't decipher it. He couldn't read it. There was something fuzzy tapping at the back of his mind, tapping, tapping, tapping, a familiar, yet completely foreign at the very same time. For a moment, a mere fuzzy moment, he thought he could read it, but then it was gone. He hummed, brows knit together in confusion as he stared down the cover, at the symbols on it. The book felt and looked old, the pages were yellow. He looked up to see where it had dropped from, finding Aaron sitting in mid-air, atop a floating throne of ancient tomes, one leg was thrown over the other, head buried in another ancient tome, yellow paper and a quill and an inkwell floating beside him. Aaron constantly made a grab for the quill and took notes on the paper beside him.

"Aaron, beautiful, what are you doing?" Hercules asked. Aaron winced, not as if he'd been startled, rather like he had been slapped. Hercules frowned in confusion.

"Don't do that," Aaron mumbled.

"I- I apologize if I've startled you, love," Hercules apologized.

"No, that's... nevermind," Aaron buried his head deeper into the tome.

"What are you doing, though?" Hercules asked and Aaron sighed.

"I found a diary of sorts. The Judge's. A few of them, actually. A lot, really. I'm... trying to find... something," Aaron mumbled, a lot more to himself than to Hercules, though it was meant for Hercules' ears.

"What are you trying to find?"

"You forgot, but that doesn't have to mean he's dead. It can't mean that he's dead. He's died before, and he can... he can't be dead. I don't care that you don't remember; I do," Aaron grumbled, burying his nose deeper into the book.

He refused to believe that Alexander could be dead. He refused to believe that just because Hercules lacked any memory of Alexander that this meant Alexander was gone. Alexander couldn't be gone, he couldn't be. Aaron rubbed his eye, where tears were welling up and he rubbed them away determinedly. He refused to, he refused.

"Please, my love, I implore you, speak to me. You are keeping something closed off to me, and I need to know what that is. I can't stand you tormenting yourself with your thoughts, let me be there for you," Hercules insisted and Aaron shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. You, you do not remember either way," Aaron said and then added, though Hercules could not hear this, "What difference does it make?"

"Please, talk to me. You promised me," Hercules said, almost in a whimper and Aaron halted.

He took his nose out of the book in his hands and set it down next to himself, looking down at Hercules, who stared up at him with hope, confusion and fear in his eyes. He sighed, "I did, didn't I?"

"You did, love," Hercules nodded, "I remember it clearly."

"Well, isn't that wizard."

"How do you mean?"

"You have forgotten something." Aaron took the book in his hand and opened it again, flipping through it and skimming over the pages, trying to find keywords that might help him find what he was looking for.

"What have I forgotten? You never celebrated our anniversary, so that can't be it. What have I forgotten, love?" Hercules was desperate to understand what Aaron meant.

"It..." Aaron sighed, then smiled down at Hercules, though there was a clear pain in his eyes and an anger bubbling deep below the surface, "Don't worry, _love_ ," something about him saying this made Hercules shiver in displeasure, "It's nothing. I've been odd all day, you say?"

"I- yes, you have been. The trial, goodness, I can't even believe that you, or we, survived it, but... and the way you... I really was scared for a bit there. James was, too, he fled actually." Hercules fidgeted on the spot, under Aaron's unobscured gaze, his hood was now thrown off, his face clearly visible. Hercules blushed as he looked into Aaron's eyes, little as he could see them with the distance and angle between them.

"He fled?" Aaron asked, finally setting the book down again and flying down to Hercules.

"Yeah," Hercules nodded quietly, his blush deepening at the closeness. He wanted to lean forward for a kiss, but there was something a the back of his mind holding him back, he didn't know why. He shook his head and ignored that foreign, yet strangely familiar, tugging at the back of his mind and leant forward, capturing Aaron's lips in a soft and gentle kiss, tender passion pushing forth between his and Aaron's lips, though Aaron froze in surprise and did not kiss back.

A moment later, Aaron gently pushed Hercules off himself with a confused look in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his brows knit together in confusion.

"Kissing you, love. My beautiful love," Hercules smiled, but Aaron shook his head with a heavy frown.

"Don't," he turned back around, calling the book he had held down to him and flipping it open.

"Wh... What's wrong now?" Hercules asked in surprised confusion. This was the second time something like this had happened today.

"Just don't do that, please," Aaron requested calmly, but there was a tension to his voice that he couldn't quite mask. It felt like a slap of rejection to Hercules, and a pang of pain shot through his heart.

"You mean... kiss you?" he asked, "Am I not allowed to kiss you?"

"It's not that... But don't call me that, it's... just don't, please," Aaron shook his head.

He flipped more through the back, ignoring Hercules' confused look. Suddenly, his eye was caught by something. The word 'Alexander' was written there.


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaron has become sorta scary. And he is angry, so it's kinda doubled how scary he is. I remember when I'd first written him, he was so... completely unlike he is now today... wtf  
> The second phase has thus begun.

Alexander. Aaron froze, having been in the middle of flipping the page. He stared down at the entry, hoping, beyond all hope, it would carry within itself some answers.

 

**A most horrible thing has happened today. Alexander, the god of winds and storms, has died. He has been forgotten by the realm below, and thus, with regret, he shall have been forgotten in this realm, too. This pain, it's horrible. Alexander is gone. This pain, I have never felt it before, not like this. By all the realms, my heart, it burned the moment he was forgotten. There was a rip, a tear, I had felt it, oh so distinctly. Sometimes I dare to wish that I am not the only one who feels this distinct and horrible lonely pain in my heart, the moment a god ceases to exist. Then again, isn't this wish horribly selfish? That I wish to share this pain with others... I suppose it remains my duty to keep him, along with everyone else, in my memory, though I wonder how many have been forever forgotten of those that had predated my own existence. I shan't forget, not ever.**

There was an entry following this one that also seemed interesting to Aaron.

**It cannot be. It simply cannot be. Alexander. He's alive. That. That should not have been possible. No, this is not possible. I felt it, I had felt it! I had felt the ripple crashing through our realm, I had felt the pain in my heart of another friend dying! I had felt it, all of it! He cannot be alive, mere logic dictates he must be dead, he must be dead! But he isn't. He has to be, but he isn't. By all the realms. I saw him. He was brought before me today. He was confused. He was horribly confused, as much as I was. There was a pain in his eyes. Such a horribly confused pain. And then I looked into the eyes of the gods who had dragged him before me. They were angry. They were repulsed. Disgusted. But they were also confused. So terribly confused because, by all means, Alexander... he should not exist. And they agreed on this matter. Alexander was dead, I still felt it, he was and is still dead, no matter that he still exists. I cannot feel him there, not properly. The more I concentrate, the more I feel traces of what he is, but not really him. He is not really there. Alexander, as he was brought before me today, was but an echo of what he had been. An echo that I have no doubt about, will soon sound its last. Perhaps it was pure determination keeping him alive. More than not, I suspect stubbornness to be at play. Alexander is a most stubborn creature, no doubt about this, and I suspect that his stubbornness has enough power in itself to keep alive an echo of him. He has always been full of surprises, that god. But he is dead. No doubt, he is dead, and he cannot be anything more but an echo. And I suppose he shall be treated as such. It pains me somewhat, to see, even if it is only an echo of him, for him to be treated like this, but it cannot be helped. The echo, because that is all that he could possibly be, will sound out soon, will disappear, as it should, as it was supposed to.**

Aaron stopped reading. This... this whole thing, was horrible. And he knew this wasn't even the last volume of diaries. He wondered, for only a moment, how or why Alexander had taken these books from the Judge, but then he remembered a story Alexander had told him about stealing a part of the Judge's vast library (although it was by no means as vast or as huge as Alexander's, it couldn't even begin to hope to compare) and putting it into his own. The books had been reorganised, though, Aaron noticed, because these bookcases were all the same, which meant that if Alexander had taken the bookcases, or even the chunk of the room with him and put it here, the bookcase in which he had found the diaries would have been different, but they were made of the same wood as every other bookcase. Alexander had the oddest way of organising. But Aaron knew it by heart, though he could never hope to explain it even if he had ever found ears willing enough to listen to him, which, while he had Hercules, he knew it was never going to happen willingly.

But this, this text, all that the Judge, in the comfortable privacy of his diary, or journal, had expressed, it stirred a fire inside of Aaron. A cold, hot, burning and freezing fire, red and white fire, slashing inside him. Slashing, burning, freezing, roaring inside his very being as the words from the page echoed back into his mind. _It cannot be helped._

So the way Alexander had been treated, could not have been helped? Could not have been helped? The way he had been treated could not have been helped?

That, that was a dangerous thing to even think. And even more of a dangerous thing to express in such a way that Aaron may eventually come across it. And he knew, he knew for a fact that the Judge still believed these very words, these very notions that the torment, the torture Alexander had had to endure over the years from the other gods could not have been helped, that, somehow, it had been... warranted. Oh, the Judge knew not what he had now brought upon himself. What he had brought upon this realm. Oh, he knew not what wrath he had ignited.

Hercules took a step back in fear the moment Aaron turned around so abruptly, with such a pure, unadulterated, burning rage, his whole being seemed consumed by it, much like after the trial. This very same, blinding rage that had taken hold of him, had consumed and engulfed him so completely and utterly that his mind had checked out and had let the rage bursting forth from his body take over.

Red and white rage took over his eyes, replacing the soothing green that had previously been at home in them. Hercules' eyes widened in fear. These were the same eyes he had stared into, and been terrified by, at the trial. And yet again, as he stared into those red-white swirling orbs, he felt the fear and utter terror well up inside him. It was much like the beauty of the face before him convulsed into a terrifying beast, and it felt like it.

Hercules fell back, onto the floor, startled by the sudden change, and absolutely terrified by the result. Aaron did not regard him for a moment longer, before turning and speeding out of the library. Whereto, Hercules was not sure. But he had the inkling of an idea, and it scared him, as much as Aaron scared him this very moment.

He loved him, adored and cherished Aaron, but this... this scared him. This was so, so different from the Aaron he knew. He knew that Aaron could carry such rage within himself, crawling just beneath his skin, waiting to burst free, be given reason to burst free. He knew that there was a rage burning inside him, keeping him going. Aaron always thought Hercules didn't know, but he knew. He knew it wasn't Aaron's love for him that kept Aaron going. That had never been the thing that had driven him, that still drove him. He knew that this rage had always been the thing that had driven Aaron, had kept him going when the world was trying to tell him no, trying to push him away. Aaron was a being that, no matter what he did, refused to be ignored. And he could not be ignored. The rage bubbling inside him made sure of this. Sure, Hercules knew, sure this rage within Aaron was usually dim, practically unnoticeable, so much so that even he was usually left entirely unaware of it, but not Hercules. Hercules knew. He knew what drove Aaron, knew what would continue to drive him even now, in the future, for eternity, or whatever Aaron might live of it. Aaron might not know that it had always been rage, whatever minor form of itself it might decide to take, that motivated him.

It drove him to eerie calmness while he practically prostituted himself to the king who had laid claim on him while planning the entire time his own escape. It drove him to rip the flesh off the hand of another king who had abused his power and had put another person into a situation somewhat similar to what his own had once been. It drove him to kill the queen in cold blood when he merely heard of and witnessed only some of her cruelty, reminding him of the cruelty of the king that had kept him, killing his parents. It drove him to watch another king be mangled and cruelly killed by the king's own forced harem. Perhaps they all had reminded him of the king that had kept him prisoner. It drove him also to rip apart the Judge, though, with this incident only, Hercules was unsure what it's trigger had been. It had all happened so quickly, the fight and everything.

Hercules halted. No. Not _the_ fight. There had been two fights, right after each other. But there had been a calm moment, a moment of victory, Hercules had felt it. Aaron had felt victorious, no matter how hard he would have denied it. There had been a gap, and then something had happened. A phial, Hercules remembered blurrily. A phial and Aaron had opened it. And afterwards... Hercules had approached Aaron... and then it had happened. 

Aaron had snapped.

Hercules could not have been prepared for the sight of it. Something within those lovely, beautiful, green orbs had snapped and broken in that very moment. But Hercules remembered the look in Aaron's eyes. They had been calm, frightened, but calm. Then dread. And finally, realisation.

There had been a realisation in Aaron's eyes, in the very moment right before he had snapped. Right before the most gruesome, cruel and bloodiest act Hercules had ever witnessed upon one person by another had occurred. And now he was scared. Scared of Aaron, of what he could do, because there was no way any other mortal could have done this. But Aaron... Aaron was full of surprises. He was always so very full of surprises. But this scared him. It made him glad that Aaron was his, and he Aaron's, that they were lovers- though it did not feel like it anymore.

This last thought made him halt. He _did _feel like they weren't lovers anymore. His brows furrowed in doubt. When had this happened? This... uncertainty? What was this insecurity in his mind, rearing its ugly head? He wondered then, for a moment, was Aaron even still in love with him? It certainly didn't feel like it. He had pushed away from a kiss and while he could have just been surprised or the kiss had been placed in an inappropriate moment, the way in which Hercules had been pushed away and ignored ignited doubt within his soul. And then when he had called him beautiful, twice it had happened, Aaron had shut it down, the pet name. It could very well be that he did not like the pet name, but Hercules couldn't remember a time in which he hadn't used it and to shut it down now? It made Hercules' seed of doubt in his chest, nested in his very heart, grow, slowly, but surely, and it was picking up speed along the way with every beat.__

__It was a miserable feeling in his chest. Every doubt he had ever felt over the years, every tiny, repressed bit of doubt and insecurity burst back into his mind all at once and the pain in his heart increased tenfold, leaving him gasping as his lungs, as a result, would not take in air for a moment. The pain subsided then, but an echo of it still lingered. Something was wrong, he felt it, he felt it so distinctly within himself that there was something so very wrong. This palace suddenly felt wrong. It shouldn't exist, by all the gods. This place should not exist. The more he thought it, the truer it felt. This place, this palace should not exist, no matter how he looked at it. The more he remembered if the palace, the more absurd its existence became, but something was keeping him from thinking further on it, though it felt wrong. He decided to leave, he didn't even know why he was here, or why Aaron had been here. Why had he brought Aaron into this palace?_ _

__Yes, he remembered, he had taken Aaron's unconscious body and had brought it here, past the tornado, passing the storm. Why had he done that? How had he known that there was something lying within these barriers? He hadn't known... He had... His head began to hurt the more his thoughts dwelled on the subject. When he stopped riding on this train of thought, he instantly felt better, and he forgot what he had even been thinking about._ _

__

__Aaron, through his infinite rage, reached the palace which Washington called his own. He no longer called him the Judge, neither out loud nor in his mind, that man did not deserve the title. The man's judgement was corrupted, he was unjust, the absolute opposite of what he was supposed to be. Aaron snuck inside, not in the mood to be caught by anyone and delayed. He knew no one would hurt him now, no one would dare to even attempt touching him. But it wasn't worth his time, all the while. He suspected the goddess of Healing would be by him, nursing his wounds as was her duty. Currently, as he did not know her, he held no particular grudge against the goddess of Healing, she did her duty indiscriminately and he could respect that, mostly. As long as she would not stand in his way, she would remain unharmed, but he made no promises otherwise. He didn't know her name, she wasn't a goddess his village worshipped, so he wasn't educated on the matter. He didn't know the names of too many gods, though he knew there must be a lot of them, seeing as very many came to his trial. The thought made him all the angrier. So many gods came to see him executed, so many of them Aaron didn't even know. They'd pay for it, eventually._ _

__Oddly enough, there were no guards of any kind to be seen anywhere, which put Aaron, who had expected there to be people, a bit on edge, though his rage muddied his logic somewhat. The palace was huge, though not as big as Alexander's, and Aaron found himself a bit lost, if he had to admit it to himself. He found his rage toning down, and his rational side, although still heavily motivated by his anger, took control. He analysed his surroundings. The stone walls were white, not a speck of dust greying them. He found a tapestry lining the walls, seemingly going on forever. The pictures on them were odd, but he knew they depicted the things Washington had done in his life as the Judge. The judgements he had come to, the so-called justices he had brought, the lives he had ruined. Gods in love with mortals had been made mortal as punishment. Many of the trials were about gods interacting with mortals in a way they were not supposed to. Aaron walked along the tapestry, his gaze kept on the pictures on it. He recalled what Washington had said about these tapestries. The goddess of Fate was the one weaving them. A goddess that makes fates. Had she really such power? If she had, Aaron decided, she should be the next one he would pay a little visit to. If she had woven his fates, then he would have to file a complaint._ _

__He walked along the tapestry, something inside him telling him to follow it in this direction to get to where he wanted to be. The stories of the Judge would lead him to him, his fate would show Aaron the way._ _

__He eyed the fabric of the tapestry as he followed it. It looked like silk, but not the sort of silks he knew of. This silk was very different. He had never felt silk as soft as this, or seen some as vibrantly colourful, and he knew this fabric must be hundreds of years old. Of course, the wool if his woolmilkpigs surpassed its quality, but it still surprised him, if only mildly._ _

__And finally, as he walked along the tapestry, he found a room. The tapestry did not end, but it led inside the room. He slowly opened the door. It was dark inside the room, but from the light that fell into it he could make out a bed, and someone lying under the covers. He couldn't make out who it was, but it was a safe bet to make that it was the god he was looking for. He walked into the room, approaching the bed and the sleeping figure atop it. He was careful as he pulled off the covers, revealing Washington lying there, naked, his torn off limbs hastily stitched to his body. He could see the work had been sloppy, too quickly. The goddess of Healing must have been under a lot of pressure to mess up her sole duty to this degree. Perhaps the pain this god had been in had pressured her to soothe it quickly, without thinking about long-run repercussions. He glared down at the body. He wasn't exactly sleeping, Aaron decided, but unconscious, not far from sleep, but usually a difference is made between the two. He stared long, his mind turning to decide what to do. He had come here without much more of a plan than hurting him more, but he had not thought about the how, and, seeing this god, this person he hated so much, just lying there unconscious, it had his want to hurt him die down, for he would not be satisfied with the half-awake pained grunts of an unconscious man who wasn't awake to feel the pain Aaron wished to inflict upon him._ _

__Still, the how eluded him for moments longer. He let his gaze wander around the dark room, his eyes becoming used to the darkness and he could make out more things in the room. The tapestry was one thing, though he could not make out the pictures on it. He pulled out the lantern he had acquired from the temple of light. Immediately, the entire room was illuminated to his needs and he smiled in satisfaction. He could see the tapestry. Surprised, he noted how the tapestry stopped above Washington's bed, then seemed to continue, or rather, begin. He set down the lantern on the ground, the light remaining unchanged and the room remaining completely illuminated, and he approached the beginning of the tapestry._ _

__There, with a gasp, he noticed Qjuanjoith letters and symbols. A story, he thought, the story of the Judge, written there, upon his fate there on the tapestry, of the beginnings of the Judge. The picture showed six balls, brown, red, blue, green, yellow and dark purple, in a circle around three worlds, three realms; the realm of gods, the realm of mortal and the realm of the dead. Upon closer inspection, there were little white dots scattered in the three realms depicted on the tapestry, and a few white dots circled each ball surrounding these realms._ _

__Above this were the Qjuanjoith letters. Aaron read them carefully, there was no need for him to translate them in his head, he understood their meaning by heart._ _

___**As six of the eight gods had found their death at the hands of beings made by life, but worshippers of Death, their essence flooded each realm, filling them to the brim with themselves, as their last harmonious act. The pure essences of them had collected in the realm of mortals, however, it could only be grasped by another god of the first.** _ _ _

__The text ended there but started again a bit to the right, where there was a picture of a cloaked figure, holding a ball wherein the colours of the balls from the picture before swirled together, meeting at a white point in the middle. The cloaked figure was the god of Death, Aaron recognised the cloak immediately. Lafayette, holding the essences of his dead friends, harmoniously swirling together into one point. The picture beside this one, showed him handing over this ball to another cloaked figure, and Aaron knew, by the cloak and lacking a face, that this was Alexander. The text read:_ _

___**The god of Death, one of the last two remaining pure gods of the worlds, held the collected essences, but, as he was struck by such grief and guilt, he could not take it. He gave it to the god of Wind, the last remaining friend, who his worshippers could not take from him. The god of Wind knew not of the nature of this present, thinking it to be a gift of most friendly intent. From the essences, the god of Wind forged out of them a hammer.** _ _ _

__The picture after these showed Alexander forging the hammer and the little white dots from before leaving the essences, and tiny bits of the essences leaving, leaving to the realm of mortals. The following two pictures showed the white dots collecting into each other, and forming something, a body, while there were other figures surrounding the body, looking like they were praying. In the following picture, Aaron could make out that it was the Judge, coming into existence._ _

___**The mortal realm grew desperate for a being that would see to it that justice would come to them, for the systems they had created had grown corrupt, each and every one of them. And thus, with desperation, they agreed to pray to the gods, to pray for the gods to send them a being that could fulfil this duty, right the wrongs their systems had created, and to bring justice to them, however he saw fit. And with the specks of death that followed the essences of the six dead first gods, tainted by the essences, and the power of the desperate and pleading prayers, the Judge was born, made strongest of the following gods and declared just king of them, for his powers seemed to know no bounds.** _ _ _

__The next picture showed Alexander, looking concerned at the Judge, who seemed to be displaying his powers in front of the previously praying mortals, who looked like they were now cowering in fear, then, in another picture, Alexander placed the hammer he had created on a throne, and in the next, the very last one, the Judge was shown holding it above his head and figures bowing to him, but their dress seemed to indicate they were gods. The hammer was surrounded by the swirling pattern of the collected essences._ _

___**And as his powers seemed so boundless, as he was created by both mortal prayers, death and the essences of the six dead first gods, he struck fear into mortal hearts, because he could not, seemingly, control such powers, even though it had only been less than a drop of the essences combined that took part in creating him. The god of Wind saw his struggles, though the Judge thought them not to be so, and decided that the hammer he had forged would help direct and control the Judge's uncontrolled powers. But, seeing as this new god held arrogance in his heart at his powers, he knew that he could not simply give it to him outright with the intent of help, it would not have been accepted, he knew this. So instead, he placed it on the throne the Judge had hastily created for himself, for the Judge to find and to think he had made it appear on his own, without the aid of anyone else. However, while forging the hammer, drops of the essences had fallen upon the mortal realm, creating new gods, all made by a drop of essence from at least one of the six dead first gods, and the need for them as created by the prayers or desperation of mortals, but never again would all the essences collect together to create a new god. And from this day on, the Judge was, with the secret gifting of his hammer, made the king of all the following gods, the specks of death that birthed him giving him the mind to remember all who shall die after him, but never peek beyond such bounds.** _ _ _

__"His hammer gives him the means to control his being," Aaron mumbled to himself. "Alexander, you were far too generous in your time."_ _

__There was a groaning behind him and Aaron realised he had read the tapestry to the door. He wondered for a moment whether the Judge understood what was written upon the tapestry, what was written as his fate. Washington groaned in pain, awakening slowly._ _

__When sleep eluded him because of the pain he felt coursing through his entire body, Washington took in his room, gazing upon the colourful tapestry. With a start, he realised his room was illuminated, and with a gasp of fear, followed by a pained groan at the exertion, he realised who was in the room with him._ _

__"Now, don't exert yourself so much," Aaron said, though his voice held no empathy._ _

__"Aaron," Washington gasped and yelped in pain as he tried to cower in his own bed, realising he was exposed, naked and vulnerable._ _

__"What did I just say?" Aaron asked, tsked and shook his head, "Can't listen, now can you? Not even when it is in your very best personal interest to do so."_ _

__"What... What are you doing here," Washington hissed through gritted teeth and pain, "You have inflicted a pain upon me which I had never known, haven't you gotten your revenge?"_ _

__"You didn't deserve Alexander's company. You didn't deserve what he had done for you," Aaron said simply. "And you do not deserve what he had gifted you."_ _

__"What are you talking about?" Washington gasped through the pain flaring up at every minor movement._ _

__"Have you ever really looked at this tapestry? I mean, the beginning of it? It begins right there, right over your head. It details how you came into existence," Aaron said. Washington shivered at the eerily calm tone Aaron was using._ _

__"I... never could decipher the lines around it-"_ _

__"Oh, but I can. You see, it is an ancient language, a dead language, and I think it died even before you came to be. How the goddess of Fate knows it is beyond me, but that is hardly of importance right now. Do you wanna know how you came to be?" Aaron asked, but didn't wait for Washington to answer. "Once upon a time, there were only eight gods, the very first gods. The goddess of earth, the god of fire, the god of wind, the goddess of water, the god of Death, the goddess of life, the god light and the goddess of darkness, in that order. Then, something terrible happened, and six of them died, their very essences spread about each realm, but then they collected in the mortal realm. Lafayette found it, but Alexander then forged a hammer out of it. Tiny bits flew off while he did that and accumulated right when the mortals needed justice most of all and prayed for it. And this created you, the bits of death attached to the specks of essence, coupled with the desperate prayers of thousands. And Alexander gifted you your hammer. "_ _

__"No, I," the Judge gasped and coughed and convulsed in the pain it drove through him._ _

__Aaron rolled his eyes, "And this is why you should not exert yourself too much with useless movements after you've been torn apart by an angry and vengeful mortal. Really, don't you ever learn?"_ _

__"I... made it-"_ _

__"You found it," Aaron corrected._ _

__"I did, but I-"_ _

__"No, you did not make it, not by accident and certainly not intentionally. You carry with you a rather powerful artefact, a rather powerful weapon, too. With it, you can control, if you so choose, the elements, sans wind and death. With it, you can force the truth out of people, with it you can silence them. Without it- well, who knows?" Aaron spat._ _

__"What do you want from me!" Washington yelled through the pain that brought tears to his eyes. Aaron pulled out a small flacon and held it under Washington's eye, catching the tears in it._ _

__"Oh, not much. Did you know that Alexander has quite a few volumes of your diaries in his library? Fascinating read, I must say," his smile was exaggerated and fake, "And I especially liked the entries of when Alexander first died. Now, don't hold it against me if I misquote, but I believe it said something like 'he is dead, and cannot be anything more but an echo, and he shall be treated as such. It pains me somewhat, but it cannot be helped'."_ _

__"That was... that was years ago," Washington gasped at his pain. The tiny flacon was soon filled with his tears of pain and Aaron closed it, looking at it with a smile._ _

__"But you still think it, don't you? That Alexander deserved the way he was treated. You believed it with your entire being, didn't you?" he asked, smiling dangerously down at Washington._ _

__"I... It couldn't-"_ _

__"Couldn't be helped, huh? I see," Aaron shook his head and took a look around the room, his gaze meeting the end of the tapestry above Washington's head. It showed Aaron defeating him, tearing him apart, and the goddess of Healing carrying the Judge's limbs and hammer, the following picture showing the Judge in this very room, with Aaron standing in the doorway. Something curious happened. The tapestry seemed to move and more pictures showed. In the new pictures, Aaron held the Judge's hammer, having found it placed under the bed. Aaron grinned, getting on his knees and looking under the bed and, sure enough, there it was. The hammer of Justice. He grabbed it and got up from the floor. It lay heavy in his hand but manageable. He examined it for a moment, but then a sudden surge of power seemed to wash over him and had him gasp. Washington stared at him with fear, his fright intensifying as a smile came onto Aaron's lips. "Well, if it really can't be helped."_ _

__And he hurled the hammer onto the Judge's foot, instantly obliterating the bones. Washington screamed, hot pain crashing into him as Aaron continued smashing every single bone in his body with a swing of his mighty hammer of Justice. He cried, the tears stinging in his eyes as Aaron worked from his feet to his legs, to his hips, his hands, arms, shoulders, ribs, neck, only his head was left alone and he was forbidden the mercy of fainting. The pain was unbearable and the Judge wished that he could die. Any mortal would be dead by now, with this endless onslaught of pain and suffering. He cried out loudly with every hit that broke his bones beyond even dust. Aaron was nothing if not thorough, he realised with terror and pain consuming his entire being._ _

__But Aaron was quiet. There was a small smile on his lips, satisfied, almost, but calm and this terrified Washington to no end, though at some point his eyes grew too blurry from tears and blinding pain for him to see it properly._ _

__Finally, Aaron stopped. Blood was splattered everywhere, except his cloak, by some miracle. The hammer was as bloody as the ripped open flesh, showcasing the bones that had been smashed to dust._ _

__"I'm sorry," Aaron spat, "I couldn't help myself." And with that, he aimed, and swung the hammer to Washington's head, finally granting him the mercy of unconsciousness. "You're gonna have such a headache in the morning," Aaron smiled and left._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaron is scary. I don't think I'd wanna stand in his way anytime soon.


	53. Chapter 53

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Angst!  
> Finally I was able to get another chapter out! Sorry that I couldn't get the chapters for the last two times out. But 've been in Edinburgh! And school has started again, so I'll have to see how I'll manage any future updates

James had to leave the courthouse, he couldn't stay there, no matter the consequences he was sure would follow him home. He was terrified of Aaron, though he could not explain why he should fear that Aaron would hurt him in any way, shape or form. What motive or reason would Aaron have? But the way Aaron had glanced at him, even though it had only been a mere moment, perhaps even less than that, there had been such hatred and rage in his eyes, but nit misdirected rage, instead it was, even if only for a single split second of a moment, directed at James, and as he had seen what Aaron had done to the Judge, he feared the same fate might, somehow, befall him as well. He had to leave, out of fear and fright and terror, all of which coursing through his veins with a vengeance he had never felt before, or he was at least quite sure he had never felt it before in his long life, though he could not quite say for sure. There was something nagging at the back of his mind, like it wanted to remind him of something, but he could, for the life of him, not put it together or put a finger on it no matter how much it nagged at him, and it did, and no matter how hard he tried to call it forth from the back of his mind, hidden in a nook and cranny, to the forefront. It simply refused to become more than just a little nag in the back of his mind, simply refused to be present enough in the forefront for him to actually make out, or even decipher if he felt adventurous or curious enough for the task. But it was a puzzle to him, quietly buzzing there, just out of the reach of his hands, and he could not hope to ever come even close to it.

But he could vaguely name it, he was sure, if he was focusing on just the right aspect he felt... guilt... or something was missing. Something was missing, he felt it, now that he could name it, but the nagging in the back of his mind was ceaseless and it did not care to stop, not even now that he had found a name for it. Had he found the wrong name for it? Was it just guilt he felt, and not that something was missing? No, that couldn't be right, not at all. Something was missing, there was a clear... something that was missing.

Something was supposed to be there, but it wasn't. What wasn't there? Why was it gone? He couldn't even guess the vague shape of what was missing. It just wasn't there and the feeling of it missing was driving a stake through his heart in a painful hurry. He had never felt like this before, it was such a foreign, horrible feeling in his heart, and something in his stomach seemed to twist and contort with the pang of pain in his heart. He knew that whatever was missing, it caused him great pain.

Moments passed and, instead of lessening, the pain gradually worsened, growing like a parasitoid seed feeding off of this feeling in his very heart, opening a pit in his stomach and filling it with worms and maggots, crawling about and around, feasting on his intestines against his will. He gasped as his heart was seized by a particularly painful aching and he fell to the ground of his palace in response to such immense pain taking hold of his being. Whatever it was that was gone, he wanted it back, but he hoped, so dearly, that this pain this missing thing caused him would flee from him even before he may have the missing piece of himself returned.

The burn of his heart spread through his body rather harshly and he convulsed on the ground, desperately grasping at his burning heart, but to no avail. He gasped, but the pain would not lessen, no matter what he did, and tears of such a heartache filled his eyes, burning hot as he cried them and the pain worsened yet again.

In the doorway to his room stood his carrier, Orsino. The carrier regarded its god with an empathic look. It understood the pain that coursed through the god before it just too well. A similar pain had taken hold of its own heart as its companion had died, and now the god of wind was fully dead now, too, and the god of the Moon mourned, though he did not know it. Orsino crawled over to its god and nudged at him. James gasped, his heart seized by another bout of pain, but he managed to look up at his carrier, the black eyes staring back into his, seeing his very being displayed so openly and James felt vulnerable, though he knew that his carrier would not misuse this knowledge of his weaknesses.

Orsino let out a sound that sounded like a cackle, mixed with the sound of a worm crawling through the earth, and this sound elicited in James a fine feeling of being understood, and this knowledge that his carrier, this loyal little creature, knew his pain and understood its source made him feel better, though it did nothing to lessen the pain, it just felt good, to know he was not alone in his suffering. Orsino approached him more and rubbed its soft snout against his cheeks, catching some tears that rolled down out of his eyes from the ache. This attempt at comfort had James just crying harder. He pulled Orsino close to his chest, feeling a strange but comforting energy emitting from the loyal creature. Orsino did not protest this, instead, it cuddled even closer than James could pull it closer, nuzzling at James' chest where it distinctly sensed the heartache its god was feeling. As it nuzzled James' chest, James felt the pain being dulled a tiny bit, and at this moment he learned to appreciate his carrier more than he had ever thought to. He felt, somehow, and he wasn't quite sure how, a similar pain in his carrier, in Orsino. He understood that his carrier had gone through much the same pain as him, and is perhaps still going through it this very moment. Though he could not understand what that pain was, knowing his carrier understood felt relieving, even if it did little to relieve the pain he felt.

He cuddled close to his carrier. Orsino began purring against James' chest, calming James' rapidly beating heart. He felt so grateful for Orsino's presence, for his company, helping him and guiding him through such intense and foreign pains.

At some point, he was sure a few hours must have passed by now, he collected himself from the floor, together with his carrier, which he kept pressed against his chest. Orsino was not particularly used to such affections by its god, only by its own companion, but it did not protest. Instead, Orsino made to crawl into James' robes, so its purring would be closer to his heart and help ease the burning ache it knew was in there. Orsino felt the aching of James' heart, and it was quite the same pain Orsino felt day in and day out, at every memory of its lost companion.

Orsino remembered vividly the times it and Alexander's carrier had spent in each other's company. They would spend hours together, napping in the sunlight - Alexander's carrier always knew the best spots for it - and Orsino would spend even longer grooming its companion, brushing through its feathers in the warmth of the sunlight. Many times they spent their time off together swimming in the sea of stars, shooting a few of them at each other for sport and fun. Orsino remembered that so many times it had been in awe at the things Alexander's carrier had done and been through. All the stories Orsino had the privilege to be told, all the adventures, tricks and pranks.

It remembered all of these things fondly, yet the pain in its heart, thumping with every beat of its quick heart, took it upon itself to torment Orsino as well. Orsino cuddled against James' chest, as its own pain intensified at the memories. At that moment, Orsino felt and heard something. It was the rustling of paper. The sound intrigued Orsino, though James noticed none of what was happening. Orsino blinked slowly as it felt again for the rustling of paper nearby. And there it was. Hidden in a secret pocket right over James' heart in the robes, were the papers that made those rustling sounds. Orsino pulled some of the papers out of the pocket, then paused upon seeing what they actually were. They were letters.

As James carried both himself and Orsino into his old room (the room that had been locked for so many years, too many decades passed), Orsino looked upon the letters more closely. They were letters addressed to its god, which surprised it. Orsino did not remember ever delivering such letters or watching them get delivered by another Carrier. Orsino smelled a whiff of the letters and stiffened. It smelled of Alexander, and vaguely of his carrier. The scent was old and faded, but it was undeniably Alexander and his carrier, there was no mistaking it for another, Orsino knew this smell by heart. These were letters Alexander had addressed to James in the past, in the far past.

Orsino's black eyes widened as it skimmed the pages, reading bits and pieces of it. It only confirmed Orsino's suspicions. Love letters, though they had never been sent. Orsino would know. But how come Orsino did not know that these letters had still found their way into James' hands? And, more importantly, how did James never before mention this, even in passing, to Orsino? Or somehow let him know? No, Orsino knew that its god had felt very much the same feelings that Alexander had felt for him, Orsino was very aware of this, as much time as it spent with Alexander's carrier. They would always complain to each other about how they should push their gods to come together, as they'd always wanted to. But it had never happened. Had Orsino known beforehand of the existence of these letters, it would have brought them to James by itself, consequences be damned.

But now it was far too late. Alexander was gone, gone and dead as his carrier, though at least of it there was still physical evidence that it had existed once. Orsino knew that James did not know where his pains had come from, where this aching in his heart, this burning hurt and suffering found its source. To James, it wasn't just that something was missing that had been there before, no. To James, it felt like something was ripped right from him. He hadn't the privilege to know why he was grieving, he was forced to grieve what did no longer exist in this or in any other world. James was forced to forget. He was forced to forget who he loved, the man he adored and wished to be with, the man he desired to be close to, to make happy, to do anything for. James was forced to forget, yet his heart did not. His heart felt the absence, it knew what it had lost, but because James did not, his heart could not tell him, for it now spoke another language than James. James could not understand what his heart wished to tell him. He just knew it, and he was grieving, mourning, though he could never understand what this was. He would never understand what he was mourning. He would never understand what he had lost, who he had loved.

James sat down on the bed, unaware of the revelations that had been revealed onto Orsino. He smiled down, though his smile was twisted in pain, at Orsino, and it cackled up at him, purring loudly and chirping as James chuckled at the feeling of it. Orsino looked at James quizzically. James returned the look with the same sentiment, confused as to why his carrier was looking at him this way. Orsino thought to itself about what had just been revealed to it. Alexander's letters. James had evidently forgotten of their existence, just as he had forgotten about Alexander's existence. But should Orsino show him? Orsino knew where from this pain and twisting ache in James' heart originated. The loss of Alexander. Orsino wondered what would happen if it showed James the letters that had been addressed to him by Alexander, the one he had lost. It wondered if, perhaps, seeing these letters and reading them might relieve James of his pains.

"What's wrong, Orsino?" James asked. Orsino's ears perked up from their flat position against its back (to fit comfortably in James' robes). James so rarely called it by its name. The loss of Alexander must have hit him harshly. Of course, Orsino felt the extent of how much it pained James, but to see it in his behaviour surprised it.

Orsino knew James would not be able to understand it. James was not someone meant to understand them. There was only one left who was meant to understand, but he was one who would not use it on any other carrier but his own. Whether he knew it or not, Lafayette, the god of Death, appeared mildly selfish in this regard. Carriers longed to be understood, but at this point, only one of them was. Though, despite knowing this, Orsino replied with what sounded like a number of clicks and purrs and mumbling to James, that it was okay. That it understood perfectly well the loss he felt. Though James did not understand, as predicted, he nodded as if he did.

James lay down on the bed, the pain grew even worse in his chest, and Orsino repositioned itself against his chest, continuously purring, as it knew it would aid James in falling asleep despite the aching loss ripping a hole deep into his very being. Orsino suspected that James would not cease to feel such pains, that the tear ripped into his heart would remain unclosed for many years, perhaps even centuries to come. As Orsino's mind dwelled on this, it realised that this pain might stay for as long as James existed. Much like the punishment Thomas had forced upon him.

In that moment Orsino also realised that the creamy potion Aaron had gifted James to lessen the pains of his punishment (which was an eternal pain, forevermore existing, no matter what was done about it) would run out very soon and James would be left with another unbearable pain to deal with, on top of the ache in his heart. Orsino dreaded the day the potion would run out, and James would be subjected to dual a pain.

Orsino wondered whether it should show James the letters. They could potentially lessen his pains, perhaps even make the first attempt to heal his broken heart, but the more Orsino thought on it, the more it feared that it would have the opposite effect on James. Perhaps, instead of healing his heart a bit, seeing just what he had lost. Would knowing what he had lost hurt or heal him?

Orsino held the letters in its small clawed hands, looking at them rather thoughtfully. It thought that perhaps it would not do more harm than it would do good to James. James would have closure, would know that Alexander had loved him as much as James had loved Alexander. Perhaps the pain of regretting what had never been would haunt him for a while, but everything would be better than letting him suffer this constant ache that got him nowhere.

And so it was decided. Orsino let out a little squawk to get its god's attention. James had almost fallen asleep at the purring against his chest distracting him from the pain that turned within, and he jerked awake, looking down at Orsino with a raised brow, though this was hidden by the big eye-patch covering the left half of his face. Orsino grabbed the letters (it had the feeling there were more letters somewhere else, but it would look for them later), and handed them to James, who took them in his own hands and sat up, Orsino sliding out of his robes and down onto his lap instead of against his chest.

James looked at the letters intrigued, then at Orsino with a question glittering in his eye, momentarily distracting him from the pain. Though, perhaps it was holding an object from his lost loved one that made the pain in his heart silent for a moment. After a moment of silence, James opened the first letter and skimmed it. After a few seconds of reading, his cheeks acquired a deep red shade and his breathing picked up a tad, as did the beating of his heart at every line he read.

"Oh goodness..." James gasped, his eye wide as he read, "This can't have been... This couldn't have been addressed to me, could it?"

The question was directed at Orsino, who was very unused to James, or any other god for that matter, talking to it or addressing it while saying anything. Orsino blinked, its blink characteristically slow, at James. After this moment of daze, Orsino attempted to communicated to James who the letter was from, gesturing and making motions with its hands, but James only furrowed his brows in confusion at what Orsino was trying to tell him.

"I'm... not sure I understand. A-are you saying it is not really addressed at me?" James asked, quietly, a faint hope tainting his cheeks an even deeper, more embarrassed shade of red.

Orsino shook its head at James to answer, and James flinched back in surprise, clinging to the pages of the letter in his hands. As James understood what Orsino was trying to communicate to him, a small, disbelieving smile graced his lips, and Orsino grew happy at seeing its god become happier, and less plagued by his aching heart.

"So it is? Oh, goodness... I... I cannot believe this. Who is this man, weaving such intricate compliments and poetry, with such flowery words, ensnaring me? Who... Such confessions. Who would feel this way for me? Me of all gods? What is this signed as?" he looked at the bottom of the last page. "Alexander?"

James glanced from the pages to Orsino, who squeaked happily at him.

"Who-" James stopped, a warm flutter seized his heart, a stark contrast to the harsh ache from before. "He incites such... sensations... So foreign... So familiar..."

James gasped as his heart was seized by even more of such lovely sensations. It was only one letter in his hands, one of so, so many. What chance was it, that only one, and, from the smell of it, the very first of these love letters, was the one which James carried close to his heart on the day Alexander died? Orsino wondered this with a bemused smile contorting on its mouth. James continued reading the letter - he had only read half of it - and the more he read of it, the deeper these wonderful sensations buried themselves into his heart and made their home in it, pushing the ache he had felt before aside to make room for themselves.

Those confessions of love shook him to the very core and caressed his soul at the same time with gentle touches. He sighed with a happy smile on his lips, the fears and pains of the day forgotten, if only for the lovely moments he invested his mind into the letter. As soon as he had read it, he was grinning most giddily, putting a hand over his mouth the more he grinned, and he began reading the letter all over again. He wondered who this Alexander was. Who was this man who felt so intensely for him? Where could James find him? James giggled at the thought. What would he even say? He wondered if this Alexander was as well-spoken in person as he was in writing, and if the flowery language he used translated well into speech. Somehow, though he knew not why, James had no doubt about any of these.

Orsino smiled at its god. Orsino wanted to preserve the happiness James felt at this very moment. It wanted that James would not be plagued by the pains of the loss he would otherwise feel tearing and breaking at his heart.

And so it was decided, at least to Orsino. It would find every letter Alexander had ever written addressed to James, collect them and then bring one of them to James every time the ache of his heart would replace the fluttering James felt in his heart at reading the letters. Orsino gathered that this would help make James happy, even if Orsino knew that this happiness would not stay for long, as it came from someone who was dead. And, some day, so Orsino knew, James would suffer this pain anew, the moment he learned of Alexander's death. But this time, he would remember who he had lost, though he would have never really met him, at least not the version of Alexander that he would interpret him to be in accordance to the letters addressed to him. He would have a very different picture of Alexander in mind. Only Alexander the lover, which was, by far, only a minor part of his being, which was dominated by the trickster more than any other.

At least James would then have the letters to return to should the pains his heart caused him to suffer through become so intense that he could no longer bear it on his own, alone with the pain and ache twisting in his heart.

Orsino lamented that it could do no more to lessen the heartache its god would feel again and again after this instance. It remembered clearly the day Alexander's carrier had died and Orsino had come to visit it.

Orsino had just fought through the tornado and storm barrier to Alexander's palace, excited to see its companion that day and play and groom. When it had arrived in the gardens that Alexander took great pains in tending to, it found Alexander's carrier lying there. Lifelessly. Orsino couldn't, at first, believe what it saw, but then Alexander rushed to them - Orsino hadn't realised it had begun whimpering at its companion's side - and cradled his carrier in his arms, calling out to it desperately, crying out, tears falling from his face, hitting his carrier's face. Orsino had soon joined his tearful cries as it too cradled Alexander's carrier, shaking it desperately, trying to wake it up. Because it didn't make sense that it would be anything else but asleep. It could not be dead, it couldn't be. But Orsino had felt it distinctly. The lively and free scent that Alexander's carrier had always carried with it had been gone, leaving only the dead body behind to be mourned.

That same day, Alexander and Orsino had buried it under a rock. To others it must have been an ordinary rock, and, by all means, it was an ordinary rock. Just not to either Orsino or its companion. It was the rock they had met on, napping together on it in the soft light of the moon. It was special to them, to Orsino and its companion. It was the same reason why Orsino kept visiting the grave, and why it had chosen this rock to be the grave its companion should be buried under, because at least like this Orsino could share a nice day with its companion on (or under) the same rock as they always had. And Orsino's companion would never have to leave the nicest spot there was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the angst, but I had to ;P   
> Anyway, I'll be editing the first few chapters (or maybe more) soon. They won't be terribly big changes, just a few things I noticed in hindsight did not make sense, or maybe even things that I had first intended to happen, but then forgot about and didn't make happen. So yeah... Don't kill me for the angst *goes and hides under a rock*


	54. Chapter 54

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today, one year ago, I wrote and posted the very first chapter of this fanfic, which was never supposed to be as deep or go on for as long as it did. Today, this fanfic turns one year old, and I thank each and every one of you, every one of my readers, who you have joined me on this journey of selfish gods, strange romance and angst. And I hope you will keep me company on this journey until the very end, because I am FAR from done! Thank you all, for all of your support and all your love, and I hope you will enjoy this chapter, as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Just FYI, I have edited a few things in the earlier chapters, especially toning down the modern swearing except where it is appropriate and fixing some plot holes while I was at it. I almost didn't realise how many things accidentally didn't make sense anymore, and how many things accidentally foreshadowed things that happened much later in the story. Strange things do happen. Like this fanfic!

Aaron brought the hammer home, the rage inside of him itching him to use it again and again on every god that would cross his path, every god that had been in the courtroom, every god that ever spoke against Alexander. There was something inside himself that called out for their blood to be spread about the ground, even spread out against the sky, so it would be tainted pink even in the afternoon. Such bloodlust curled inside him, twisting playfully, but burning rapidly, it even tainted his eyes. He strode into the palace, the doors swinging open on their own, with only a drop of his will prompting them to do so. He was so stuck in this state of his that he did not hear Hercules call out to him, until Hercules stood right in front of him and took him by both his shoulders.

"Aaron, please!" Hercules called to him, shaking him. It pulled Aaron out of his bloodlust state for a bit, and he looked at Hercules with surprise.

"Hercules?" he asked and glanced down at the heavy weight he felt in his left hand. A hammer. Much like the one the Judge- No way. There was blood dripping from the hammer, down onto the floor. "What... what happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know! You- You just disappeared on me here and... Why do you have the Judge's hammer?" Hercules asked, gently lifting Aaron's hood from his head. Aaron flinched at this, but couldn't pull the hood back onto his head as his left hand was occupied, and Hercules had taken hold of his right hand in a gentle, yet firm caress. Aaron wanted to pull away, this wasn't his Hercules, but the other did not let go of his hand and didn't even feel Aaron try and pull his hand away.

"I was... I stole it. Yes, I stole the Hammer of Justice... I know who made it... and I felt I needed to return it to him..." Aaron said, ending it with a decisive nod.

"What? Don't be silly. The Judge made it-"

"He did not," Aaron frowned, raising the hammer in his hand to his chest, "I know who made this, and I know how it was made. I will not give it back to Washington, I will keep it far away from him. It is the only thing that can properly channel and control his power. Without it, he can't do much. He can't bend people to his will, at least not without breaking them, and if he could think even a bit rationally, he would not attempt it. I'm rather sure he would just hurt himself."

"But... why would you do that?" Hercules asked, desperate to understand.

"You remember nothing. It wouldn't help if I told you, no matter what I told you," Aaron all but spat. It hurt, it hurt a lot. This, the muse right in front of him whom he had loved so dearly for so many years, that was not his Hercules. He was different now. Now that he did not -- could not -- remember Alexander, he was different. Why had so much changed with forgetting Alexander? Why did it change him so much? He was so different, yet it was the same body as always. It confused Aaron's mind, and it hurt every time he lashed out because of it, because he saw the confusion in Hercules' eyes, and it mirrored his own very much. Hercules wasn't the same, and yet, neither was Aaron. He was sure that he, in Hercules' eyes, had gone through a harsher change than Hercules had in Aaron's eyes. They had both changed with Alexander's death, no matter that the reason for it was different.

"Please, Aaron, love, I... Could we please talk?" Hercules asked, his voice breaking and Aaron really looked at him now. Tears were welling up in Hercules' eyes and the sight of it broke Aaron's heart.

"Of course, we can... In our room... wait for me there and I... I'll be there as soon as I put this away," Aaron assured him softly. Hercules looked doubtful, and that hurt Aaron. Hercules hadn't doubted him in a long time. In fact, Aaron couldn't remember the last time Hercules had truly doubted him.

"All right..." Hercules finally managed to push through his lips, even though he was very hesitant in leaving Aaron out of his sight.

Aaron quickly left the hall, down one of the dark hallways that twisted and turned and grew or shrunk in size. Hercules watched him leave and a pit opened up in his stomach as he did. Aaron wasn't the only one uncomfortable with this change between them. But Hercules had a feeling that Aaron knew what had caused this change. He kept talking about Hercules forgetting something, but the more Hercules tried to think about what he might have forgotten, the more his head began to hurt. It was there, he felt its presence, but it was locked behind a silver gate, secured with seven locks. There was nothing he could do to reach it, and it only hurt when he tried.

Hercules shook his head and kept a look out for the black door that would lead him to the bedroom. It wasn't always easy to find it- wait... how did he know the bedroom would be behind a black door? Where had that thought been going? 'It wasn't always easy to find it'. That was the thought.

An explosion that sounded like it came from one of the doors floating above him made him abandon the train of thought he had been on, and forget about it entirely. He didn't even notice how he forgot about it, how the very thought slipped through one of the seven locks on the silver gate and behind it, never to be reached again. He shook his head at himself and found a black door in one corner of the hall. He teleported to it and opened it, finding the bedroom just behind it. He smiled in his little triumph and entered the bedroom, closing the black door behind himself. He sat down on the bed and waited for Aaron to return to him.

He waited for ten more minutes, and he almost had the feeling that maybe Aaron wasn't coming after all, that he had been lied to, that Aaron had lied to him. Just as that feeling had begun gnawing at him did the door open again, revealing Aaron behind it, the hood pulled over his face yet again. Hercules frowned at this. He wanted to see Aaron's face, felt a desire to touch it, caress it and kiss it. But Aaron having his hood covering his head and obscuring his face was a clear indicator that none of this would be happening any time soon.

Aaron sat down on the bed as well, carefully sitting down cross-legged in front of Hercules, who did as Aaron and faced him. Even though Hercules couldn't see Aaron's face, he felt that Aaron was uncomfortable with this situation. Hercules opened his mouth to speak, but it took him a few moments, perhaps a few minutes, to get out what he had been thinking about.

"Things... things changed... Things changed between us. You changed, too, love... And... And I get the feeling that you know something about this that I do not... Please, please tell me what happened that changed you- that changed _us_ so," Hercules said, his voice begging and Aaron frowned and glanced to the ground.

"You don't remember, Hercules. It would change nothing if I told you," Aaron said, careful not to meet Hercules' eyes.

"Why do I not remember?" Hercules' voice was insisting.

"Because, Hercules, it is a god who died. And you do not remember him," Aaron's voice began to break, but he tried to keep it carefully under control, "But he, Alexander, was my best friend. And because of the Judge, and all the other gods, he is dead now."

"But... that can't be... Aaron, love that can't be. I'm a muse, I would remember-"

"No, you would not, and no, you do not. You don't remember him and that's why things have changed. You don't remember him and..." Aaron sighed, "And you changed... You're different from the Hercules I knew and... I don't know... I don't want anything to be different between us. But... I know that this," he failed to specify what he meant, "This changed things. And there's nothing I, or you, can do about it."

"Please, my love, I wish to see you smile," Hercules cried softly, lifting his hand to caress Aaron's cheek. Aaron took Hercules' hand and moved it away.

"You wish to see my face," Aaron corrected knowingly, almost bitterly.

"What is so wrong about it? You've shown me your face before," Hercules tried to lift the hood from Aaron's head, but Aaron jerked away.

"No. No, Hercules," he shook his head and Hercules looked at him pleadingly.

"But why can't you? What have I done that you cannot show your face to me?" Hercules asked, begging.

"I do not like to show my face, Hercules, you know this. You've respected my decision to keep my face obscured until this very moment. Why do you so suddenly want to go against it? Why do you question my decisions now?" Aaron leaned away from Hercules and didn't even look at him.

"I... I'm not questioning your decision, I just... I just want to see you. It feels like you're keeping something from me, love," Hercules replied, unsure of himself.

"Well, I am not. As far as I am aware, I am not keeping anything from you, except for my face. And if that is all that you want to see, then I must disappoint you. You will not see the curse I was born with," Aaron replied sternly.

"It is not a curse! Your beauty is a blessing, love!" Hercules insisted and, even through the obscuration of the hood, he could feel the glare Aaron threw his way.

"It is not! This face I've been cursed with has done nothing for me but bring me troubles and sleepless nights!" Aaron exclaimed bitterly.

"But how can something so beautiful be anything but a blessing?" Hercules asked and Aaron groaned in frustration.

"This! This is what I was talking about! This is something you might have said before we became a couple! Not something you would- not something you would have said just a few days ago. But now? It's like all the progress we've made has just... vanished," Aaron became quiet at the end of that exclamation, as realisation had snuck up on him quietly.

"But... I don't remember-"

"Exactly!" Aaron exclaimed with another wave of anger, "You don't remember! You don't remember anything that- anything that-" and it was then that Aaron let the tears he had been keeping locked away burst free. "Oh, by all the good gods that remain!" Aaron exclaimed through his tears, pushing Hercules' arms, who was trying to comfort him, away. "You don't remember the things we've been through, I bet on it!"

"What are you talking about, love?" Hercules pleaded, "Please, how can I help you?"

"Tell me, Hercules, just- just tell me, the temples, what do you remember about them?" Aaron asked, his voice breaking as he tried to keep his tears inside.

"I... We went to, um... There was... There was a... uh..." Hercules tried, desperately, but, for the life of him, he couldn't remember any temples.

"And there it is. You've... you've forgotten so much. You've forgotten what happened after we went to the Winding Woods and... Hercules, you forgot the promises you made to me. You forgot- you forgot-..." Aaron couldn't continue. There was a certain anger inside him, right alongside quiet despair. Not directed at Hercules, but someone else. He knew that it was not Hercules' fault that he could no longer remember anything of the past, at least not the most important events. It was the fault of the Judge, it was the fault of all the other gods. It was Thomas' fault, it was the fault of Fate, Time, the seven gods of War, it was the fault of all of them and more. He felt a familiar anger, and a very familiar lust for blood. They had taken Alexander from him, and now also Hercules. Hercules may still physically exist, but this was not the Hercules he loved. Hercules had been taken from him the moment Alexander had, and Aaron felt the familiar rage bubble inside him.

Hercules noticed this too and flinched.

"Aaron? Love, please, I... Please, calm down, you're... frightening me somewhat," Hercules tried, but Aaron's mind was already submerged in rage.

Aaron stood up from the bed and went for the door with heavy steps. With a voice that Hercules did not recognise as Aaron's, he said:

"I will make them pay."

 

Aaron forced the sun to part and open for him and strode inside. Thomas was still and would forever be stuck in the Winding Woods, never to return again. Aaron was not here for Thomas, though. He was here for something else. He was here to steal Thomas' silver fire. He wore the gauntlets he had found in the temple of fire to be able to bear the silver fire he was looking for.

As he strode into the sun, he noticed how nothing looked like the day he had come here and banished Thomas. There were a bed and a window, yes, but nothing else. There were no signs that anybody had ever lived here, and the entire sun itself was a different colour than before.

It would have struck Aaron as somewhat odd, had he been in the right mind to notice. But all his attention and focus was solely drawn to the very middle of the room. There was something that had not been there before. A torch stood there, tall and imposing, in the middle of the large room, burning brightly, and Aaron felt the power surging in the flames, flaring dangerously as he approached.

Silver fire. The most powerful fire, and curse, known to the three realms.

Aaron was, for a moment long, mesmerized by the sheer power he felt coming from the silver fire that sat there, right there in front of him, burning with rapid passion. It felt, very distinctly, like the fire was calling out to him. It was like a voice was speaking to him. No, he corrected himself mentally. Not _one_ voice. There were two voices. Two voices calling to him from the fire. They were male, as far as Aaron could tell in his state, but he ignored them after acknowledging their existence, even though he could have sworn they called out his name.

He disregarded the voices and approached the fire, a glint in his eyes. He procured a white vial from inside his cloak an opened it. There was nothing inside this vial and it waited patiently to be filled by whatever Aaron chose to fill it with. He gently placed the opening of the vial against the very bottom of the silver fire. Then, like some form of liquid, the silver fire began to trickle down into the vial, filling it up quickly. Aaron gave a malicious smirk at this, feeling somewhat triumphant. As soon as the vial was filled up with the silver fire, he left the sun, not wanting to stay there any longer than what was absolutely necessary. Even though the sun had changed nigh completely, it still, somehow, reeked of Thomas' power, and he did not want to spend any more time in its presence, lest he be reminded too much of him and his mood sour even more than his rage could already accomplish.

Though Aaron, behind the veil of rage, did not know what to do, the rage bubbling inside of him knew exactly where they were headed to exact their revenge upon the gods. He would steal from all the gods, plunder the heavens blind. And he would begin with Fate.

Fate who had cursed him with all the ills that have happened in his life, and in the life of those he held so dear. It was mainly her fault, the goddess of Fate was to blame for Alexander's death, for Hercules forgetting him and changing so drastically. She was to blame for it all, and the mere thought of it all let the rage inside of him take over full control over his body and lead him, though in rage he was blind, to the den of Fate.

Though his rage did blind him the entire way there, and he had no memory of arriving at her den, the veil of anger lifted to reveal to him the intricacies of what lay inside the den which the goddess of Fate, her name Fatum, called her home. Curiously enough, there seemed to be strings and threads of silver silks everywhere. The den was more of a cave, Aaron realised a moment later as he ventured deeper inside, where the threads of silk seemed to become more and thicker all-together. He let his hand roam over some of them, lining the walls, and he was surprised at the texture. It didn't exactly feel like silk. It felt much like silk, but not quite, and it bothered him enough to pause to think on it further.

He thought through it most rationally, or as rational as one may think in a situation such as these, with a rage such as his burbling inside. The texture was just off enough for the threads to not be silk, but they were something quite close to it, and, by closer inspection, the threads looked rather fragile, though, a tug at it, trying to tear it, proved it was a very durable thing. Aaron hummed but wasn't compelled to investigate any further, and he continued further into the cave.

Deeper inside, he heard a humming of a familiar song. It was the song that was always played when the festival season began, starting with the celebration of stories. Of course, having been the youngest of a poor woodworking family, neither he nor his family had the time or money to attend these celebrations, but they did have their own traditions surrounding the season. The first day of the festival season was always spent inside the house, telling stories of days long past, fairy tales, legends and myths. This was mainly how he learned of the early, rebellious years of his grandmother. The only thing he ever noticed was done by the city, as in city-wide traditions, was this song that they sung at the beginning of the celebration of stories. The melody that was hummed inside this cave was slightly off, but it was clearly the song of stories, as was sung by his city at the celebration of stories each year.

_The stories of the world, little and small_  
Calling, calling to all  
Calling, calling to all  
Legends of the gods, myths of the muses  
Spirits and Tuses, Spirits and Tuses  
Stories of fighters, of wars and the righteous  
Nothing compares, as a story ensnares  
Fear not the darkness, the wind or the harkness  
As tempests roar, and Tempus watches  
As time does pass, as fate does see  
In iron clutches of the Judge's  
The hammer of justice strikes with glee  
And thus are told the whole world's stories  
Pass the time and pass the worries  
Cling to joy and hope, you all  
As stories of the world do call  
As stories of the world do call 

He remembered this song very distinctly, he had heard it many times before, though he was unsure about some of the lyrics, as he had only ever heard it from far away, piecing the words together on a string every year, as he heard and understood more words of the song after each year, and every time listening to it.

He found it peculiar that this song would be hummed in this cave, housing the goddess of Fate herself, and yet, it was unimportant. He shook his head and ventured further into the cave, following the threads of silk beyond all the twisting and turning paths. The thicker the threads became, the louder the humming became along with it. Between the threads on the walls, he noticed some carvings and inscriptions, and in passing, he skimmed over some of them. From what he bothered to read, the inscriptions depicted the story of how the goddess of Fate and the goddeq of Time got married. He ignored this story in favour of the path ahead, his lust for vengeance pushing him forwards.

He passed a glimmering, silver gate, along and through which the threads twirled, sparkling almost golden in the light that came from a hole above. As he entered the room, he was momentarily surprised at the sight before him. Now, he had been educated very little in his days and had known nigh nothing of the gods. His family had just not had the time to bother with rituals and religious traditions, at least not in detail. All the traditions that Aaron had been taught had been very simple, and rarely, if ever, mentioned the gods at all. He wasn't even sure he knew just how many gods existed, or which ones the city they had lived by the outskirts of, worshipped. He knew, admittedly, very little about the customs related to the gods, the festivals and celebrations were particularly difficult to wrap his head around, as he had really never been exposed to them.

And as he knew very little about all the gods in general, safe for the few things Alexander had taught him about some of them, he was momentarily surprised by the sight of the goddess of Fate before him.

All the silver threads lead to her head, making up her hair. She sat at a big loom, working diligently, her eight hands working with skilled speed as she wove her own hair, turning it into the tapestries that seemed to just spring forth from the loom and travelled out of the hole above, splitting in every direction. That must be how the Judge's tapestry gets... updated along the way. Aaron wondered, albeit briefly, if this happened to all the tapestries that were not right here in this cave. The rest of the walls, which seemed to stretch on into infinity, were covered both in the goddesses hair and in tapestries that did not belong to any of the gods, but perhaps other creatures and beings. They were all as intricate and complex as the one on the Judge's walls. Colourful and rich in complex patterns, clean and bright. Had he been in more sound of mind, he would have appreciated the work that must have gone into those fine tapestries, centuries worth of skill going into those, especially with the colours that shone so brightly, and the well-done contrasts. However, he was no more sound of mind than the spirits residing in the Winding Woods, and so he had no eye for the fine work that was put into the tapestries strewn about upon the walls around him. He got over his surprise in the eight arms and eight legs the goddess of Fate was sporting, as well as her infinite-seeming hair.

There was a carrier sitting next to her. It purred loudly and had eight legs, much like its goddess, and several eyes, looking much like one had crossed a spider with an otter and an eel. Its ears looked like they were misplaced on its head, much too big, though they were the standard size for a carrier, to be comfortable on that tiny head.

He disregarded both of these oddities of sights in front of him as he approached them. The goddess of Fate did not seem like she noticed him at all and, upon closer inspection, Aaron noticed that her eyes were glowing brightly, the same sort of soft glow that the moon emitted at the very beginning of the night, where only the fewest and brightest stars are out yet to rival the fading light of the setting sun. This state seemed to take up all of her concentration as she wove at her loom. Her carrier, however, noticed Aaron immediately upon entering the room and coming closer. It sat up and hissed at him, green venom spitting forth from its fangs. Aaron looked at it unimpressed, but the goddess of Fate flinched when some of that green venom hit some of her hair. Her eyes stopped glowing, she had a seven of them, and she turned to look at her carrier, confusion in every one of her eyes. Her carrier hissed again and glared at Aaron, who was approaching them menacingly. The goddess of Fate looked up and met Aaron's eyes, her own widening with fear and she gasped, standing up from her loom in a hurry.

"Goodness!" she exclaimed, picking up her carrier and keeping it close to her chest, covering it with her eight arms, "I did not... I did not think so soon..."

Aaron raised a brow at her words but remained silent.

"I... you must forgive me for being unprepared. Your... presence here is... how do I put it? It is rather, um... well, it is unusual, for one. I do not get many visitors, even my spouse is rather busy with their own work. As am I, all things considering, so every minute spent with them is a precious thing." She kept rambling politely, then regarded Aaron with a defeated look in her eyes. "I am Fatum, and I know what you have come here for. I've dreaded this day, and lived it once, as well. I know the pain that shall come, and I know I cannot persuade you to take another path than this. Vengeance is something I would not recommend, personally. Now, I must sound so biased to you-"

"You rather do."

"And I ask you to forgive that, if you can forgive anything at all." She kept petting the carrier in her arms nervously, her many fingers getting caught in the fluffy hair often. "I, for one, beg your forgiveness. It was not deserved, not at all, what happened to you. Or him..."

"Perhaps, then," Aaron hissed, "You should not have decided this fate for us."

Fatum's eyes widened in surprise, and it was odd for Aaron to see seven eyes widen like that. She looked confused for a moment, then realisation seemed to dawn on her and she smiled, fondly and sadly at the same time.

"Yes, you do think that." She nodded and scratched her carrier's ears with a thoughtful expression. "I do wonder what would happen if I went against my own work..."

"Well, you will find that is very much what I am here for today," Aaron growled, but Fatum merely shook her head, the sight of which seemed to bring the fire inside of Aaron to flare up once more.

"No. You are here for vengeance. Not to change your fate." Suddenly, her voice grew cold and she opened her arms, releasing the carrier from her grasp and, with one glare from her, it scurried away, upwards, escaping the room through the hole in the ceiling. "I know what you are here for, Aaron, bringer of Vengeance, wielder of the eight ancient artefacts, owner of the flight granting sandals, saviour of kingdoms, the Traveller. You are here to bring me down, and after me, you shall do the same to the one I love. I know this, and I know I cannot stop you. But I will not, and I may not, go down without a fight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fatum is not who one may think she is, but her work is important to her, as is a very special person in her life.
> 
> I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will be celebrating my fanfics 'birthday' (anniversary?) for the rest of the day. Although, I may just begin working on the next chapter (no promises though!) ;P


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait you had to endure for this new chapter. Thing is I was busy as all fuck with school and exams (four hour long ones) and then I had/have an internship/placement (whatever it's called) in the theatre nearby, which is going great, by the way, and I've been to two birthdays, so I had very little time to sit down and work on this thing, but I hope that you'll enjoy it anyway!

Aaron summoned the silver fire to his hands from within his cloak. Fatum's eyes hardened in fear and she flinched back. A wave of one of her hands hid the loom to her side behind a wall of silky hair. She summoned no weapon, to Aaron's surprise, instead, she let her face morph to gain the fangs of a spider, dripping with poison. A poisonous glare filled all her eyes but one, which was drenched in resignation instead. Aaron found this sight peculiar. Why would she be resigned to this, if it was her who made all fate? Why would she create such a destiny for herself, to be fought on this very day?

He didn't let himself think further on these questions as rage overtook him once again, ripping all control form his fingers, forcing him to fling the silver fire in her direction almost blindly. She dodged and the fire exploded behind her in the cave wall. In retaliation, she picked up a rock from the ground and coated it in the poison from her fangs and threw it at him. Aaron did not need to dodge, as Nae's protective glow engulfed him and shielded him from the attack. He hurled another ball of fire at her, his rage seemingly feeding the fire as it roared. Fatum dodged only barely, but her movements were speedy as she crawled to the top of the cave quicker than Aaron noticed, as the fire had exploded once more, blinding him momentarily.

He snapped his head to the left and right, looking for the goddess as she seemed to have disappeared from his sight.

"You wish for a life so unlike yours," he heard the goddess say with melancholy and his head snapped up to meet her gaze.

"What do you know of what I wish for!" he growled and hurled another ball of fire at her, which she narrowly evaded by letting herself fall. She dropped to the far back of the cave, away from where the loom was hidden and Aaron followed her with a yell.

"You wish for a life, unlike the one you're living. You have always wished for death, even in your happiest moments, this is your one desire, and it has not changed. I know why you wish for death, because it marks your end, and it marks the chance for something else, something _unlike_ you," the coldness in her voice gave way to hesitance. "And I pity what your story came to be. I pity the stories woven into yours. I pity those hurt and helped by you. You wished for neither, you just did."

Aaron screamed and threw another ball of silver fire after her, she ducked and hurled something at him which he did not recognize, but he burned it to the ground before it could have the chance to hit him, yet behind that first, big object, the goddess had thrown another object, which hit Aaron almost full on, impact broken only a bit by Nae's protection, as it was rather sudden.

Aaron was buried under a stone closet, having a difficult time breathing as the heavy object laid on his chest, painfully keeping him from breathing properly.

"You, Traveller, are caught in a storm. And you never asked for this, but this is what your life has become, what your story has been all along. An unwanted storm. At least by you. You were selfish and generous, you've hurt and you've helped, you've destroyed and you will create. I know this, because I have seen it. You will face and create hardships in the same breath. You will move people like they are puppets on strings. And yet you will be moved much like that, but away from a mistake. And after more time, more than you ever asked for, you will get what you asked for." Her voice trembled, respect and fear and pity glistening in the tears welling up in her many eyes. "I pity the one that loves you. He has changed, like you feared. With all the memories that have been ripped away from him, pieces were dragged along that had no right to be forgotten."

Aaron struggled under the heavy object, and with the help of Nae, he finally broke free from under it. Nae said nothing, was far too afraid to let a single sound slip past its lips that may have Aaron's unbridled rage focus on it instead of on the goddess, whose words went completely ignored by the rage that filled him, but Aaron heard, and grew confused, yet his rage dared not show this on the outside and pushed the feeling to the far back, into the darkest parts of Aaron's mind. Nae disappeared immediately after helping Aaron, who spun around to throw a myriad of fireballs at Fatum, his rage intensified.

With every ball of fire he threw, and every ball of fire dodged and evaded by Fatum, his rage grew and grew and grew, consuming every last bit of his mind that had not yet been infected by the burning, fiery rage, and the burning of it, he felt it so deep inside of him, something calling out to him. It called out for him to stop, he heard the voice so clearly, but it was unfamiliar. 

'Stop it now!' the voice called out to him, distantly, but clearly, as the fires of rage burned inside, roaring almost above the voice. With a shake of his head, Aaron ignored the call, and summoned a fire twice his own size, and shot them as well, flying like arrows at Fatum.

And this time she could not dodge.

A scream of utter and pure agony screeched through the cave, echoing from the walls in an endless circle, and to Aaron's ears, a sick, satisfied grin on his lips. He sprung into action, tearing the silky threads of hair from the cave's walls, speeding at Fate. Once there, not one look spared to her writhing form on the ground, he tied her up in her own hair, so that she could no longer move, no matter how hard she thrashed and writhed and tried to lash out, though whether it was at him or at her own restraints was rather unclear. Aaron wasn't sure where he had hit her, but it didn't matter. None of this mattered.

He summoned a small ball of silver fire. Fatum's eyes scrunched in confusion, for only a moment, and pain, then widened in realisation and fear. She knew what Aaron was about to do, and she had lived it once, but until this day, until this very moment even, she had not given herself even a moment to dwell on the inescapable, the inevitable. She had dared to deny to herself that this moment was one which she could not escape from. She could not escape her own fate.

She could not escape the fire Aaron set upon her hair.

And in the very next moment, everything was burning in a flash of rage-filled fire. The fire coursed through her hair, burning it from the top of her head, down and around her, burning her body, burning the walls upon which her hair had been hung and spread about. And finally, accompanied by a most painful scream, the fire reached the loom of Fate. It did not burn the loom, as Aaron had hoped, but instead, the fire fed through the tapestries that were still connected to the end of the loom. The fire spread along them, all those thousands upon thousands of tapestries, all those fates done, past and present and future, ruined and burned to a crisp, to ashes that fell from the skies like rain. Some tapestries had gone through the hole in the ceiling of the cave, those had been the tapestries showing the fates of the gods, and they were burning the brightest.

In fact, in only a few, agonizing moments, the entire sky was set aflame, burning brightly, roaring loudly, striking fear into those who witnessed it. The sky in the realm of gods burned with such intensity and brightness, that it could be seen from the realm of mortals. And a certain group of rulers saw the sky aflame and feared, like all who saw the sky, that the wrath of a god had been evoked, though none had any idea how wrong they were. The only one, really, who did not see the sky ablaze with wrath, was a man who had killed his twin and father in his own wrath.

Aaron had no room to care for the desperate cries and agonized screams the goddess emitted behind him. His eyes were on the loom, furious that it did not burn with the tapestries and hair, enraged that it did not feed the fire as all else. He wanted to see this object destroyed. But then a thought crossed his infected mind. If he could not destroy it with the power of the silver fire, then the only thing left for him to do was to steal it. Either way, he would take from her, as was taken from him. And this was only the first, or perhaps the second, of gods he would take things from in revenge.

He approached the loom as the cave burned around him, Fatum had fled a moment ago, screaming and crying in pain, though he could not get very far before she had collapsed upon the ground, the pain has been far too much on her, though it never directly burned her, much to her luck and endless relief, though she had already known this would happen. Nothing, not even having lived it once, could have prepared her for this, for the pain, for the fear she had felt, the utter terror that had gripped her hearts at the mere sight of the cloaked Traveller, as he had come to be known in the realm below. Even though she could not have seen his face, nor his eyes, she had felt their gaze on her, filled to the very brim and overflowing with hatred, anger, and bloodlust for revenge. A deadly combination.

Aaron walked around the loom, the fire roaring loudly around him, though he didn't pay it any attention as he assessed the situation with the loom. The silver fire was still trying to feed on the wood the loom was made of, but it just couldn't, and this intrigued Aaron through his rage. He pulled out from underneath his cloak, the tornado staff. With a flick of the staff, a strong gust of wind, which chilled him to the bone, blew the silver fire away from the loom to latch onto the hair that had not yet been burned on the walls of the cave.

The loom was not attached to anything, not even to the tapestries anymore, as they had all burned. A sense of pride stung through his stomach at the thought, though it was quickly covered by his anger. He gave it a bit of a push and found it couldn't be too heavy, at least not for him. He would be slowed by it, but he figured he wouldn't lose much time. And so it was decided. He folded the loom and strapped it on his back, and it was rather heavy, but he could manage.

The next bit was another blur, as he did not remember bringing the loom home, as he did not remember where his anger led him to next. All he remembered within that hazy blur, was a voice, like the one calling out to him from before, but different, calling to him, begging him to stop. He did not listen. In fact, he was sure he couldn't. His revenge had only just begun, and he could not listen to a wayward voice begging for him to cease what he was doing, that revenge would not be worth it in the end and change nothing. But he didn't listen.

The next moment the blur left his eyes, he found he was in an odd place. It looked like a desert but made of rock instead of sand, and there was a golden river stream running through it. He wandered along the river for a moment, until he spotted somebody.

At first, he wasn't sure whether he saw correctly, or whether maybe the blur wasn't entirely gone yet from his eyes. But there, a few meters ahead of him, squatting by the river with their hands in it, pulling out some of the golden something each time, was a figure clad in simple green and black-lined robes, with patterns stitched on it with silver thread that resembled many kinds of clocks. But this was far from the odd thing that made him halt. 

This figure had three heads.

The one on the right of the body, from their point of view, had short hair that was buzz cut on the left with bangs on the right. There were bags under this one's eyes and they looked quite stressed and impatient. The middle one looked annoyed with long, well-kept hair flowing down their back. The last one looked the most relaxed out of all of them and was most likely sleeping, from the sounds of it, with crazy curly and messy hair, standing on the head pointing into every direction. Though they had three heads, the figure only had two arms.

Aaron cared not further for their appearance, rather he approached them quite menacingly.

The first head to notice him was the right one, its eyes darting up at him quickly, before the entire head snapped up from what they were doing and it flinched back in fear, hitting the middle head, causing it to bump into the right head and wake it up. The middle head glared at the left head while the right head yawned loudly and complained in a mumble about not being left alone while sleeping.

"Stop stressing! I told you, we'll find it eventually. It can't be so difficult to find one sand kernel that weighs more than the rest," the middle head chided.

"You keep waking me up, why? I just want to sleep," the left head complained and the right hand was lifted groggily to cover up the yawn that followed. The middle head turned to the left head with an annoyed look.

"You could do more than sleep, every once in a while," the middle head grumbled.

"Why? Is Fatum here?" the left head asked, clearly not fully awake yet, threatening to fall back asleep any second it would be left unsupervised.

"Shut up, both of you! We have a visitor!" the right head finally yelled at them, who the others now snapped to Aaron's direction in surprise, the left one slower than the middle one, as it was still not fully awake yet and would not let itself be perturbed by any news.

"Who goes there disturbing the Sands of Time!" the middle head proclaimed.

Aaron's gaze swept over them momentarily, then down to the golden river beside him. Upon closer inspection, he noticed curiously, it was not water or gold at all. No. It was golden dust sand. A river of flowing sand was running beside him in winding trails. He raised a brow, unsure why his rage infected mind had carried him here. Then he paused. The Sands of Time? He let his gaze sweep over the figure before him once more.

"Are you the goddeq of Time?" he asked through gritted teeth. The figure before him flinched back at the harsh tone of his voice.

"Who wishes to know?" the right head replied anxiously.

Aaron paused for a moment, then replied, "You should know my name. Or has Fate refrained from telling you your destiny?"

The middle and right heads' eyes widened in fear, while the left head merely sighed.

"Aaron, yes, the Traveller. I've heard of you. Or, I've seen of you," the left head yawned tiredly, "I think I saw the sky a few days ago. You've done a number on it. First, setting it ablaze, then you steal the stars from it. I thought I'd dreamt it, but no."

"Th-that was him?!" the right one squeaked anxiously and the left shoulder shrugged.

"Maybe, I don't know, could've dreamt it. Could've just made it up. He's not here to play games, at least no fun ones anyway," the left one said nonchalantly.

"You must be joking. The sky? Ablaze? And stealing the stars? Preposterous!" the middle head exclaimed to calm the right head.

"You might wanna look up then," the left head closed its eyes like it wants to go back to sleep.

The middle head did as suggested and found that the sky was still tinted a mild orange, and all the stars that usually adorned the sky in decoration were completely gone. There was not one star left in the sky of their realm, and the middle head could only guess what that meant for the realm below and how it must look like down there, where the presence of the stars was far more noticeable and where the absence of them would be noticed the very next night. The right and middle head wondered briefly how it could be that the man before them had stolen the stars and had set the sky ablaze with fire. Collectively, they flinched back from Aaron, who had stood there silently assessing the situation. He wondered briefly what would happen if he were to behead them, or if he were to behead only one head. Would the other heads feel the pain? Or would they not feel anything, besides terror and fear, of course, at all? These questions made him curious to see for himself, but there was hardly any time to play around like that. He understood now why his rage had led him here, to this goddeq with three heads.

_You are here to bring me down, and after me, you shall do the same to the one I love._

This phrase rang in his head like a clear bell on a silent night. The one I love. The one whom Fatum loves. He remembered it vaguely, Alexander telling him about the goddess of Fate and the goddeq of Time being married. If this curious figure was indeed the goddeq of Time, and many things told him they were, he knew exactly what he was here for.

"Yes, and this may be a great time to flee, everyone, wouldn't it?" the left head suggested with a humorous chuckle, lazily lolling about with its eyes closed, "Or I bet he'll do to us what he did to the sky, and I may not care, but I think you two do, because you're susceptible to pain, or some such, so... yeah."

And then they ran. And the chase was on. And Aaron's mind snapped back into a hazy blur as he clearly felt himself pursuing them, quicker than they could ever flee themselves. He didn't remember what happened next, only that there was a lot of blood and many screams and the sound of bones being broken. He also vaguely remembered using the shovel from the earth temple, though he only found out what he had done after he awoke from the hazy blur of his rage infected mind.

 

While one's mind was a blur with hazy running rage, another's mind was filled with something akin to happiness, putting a pleasantly hazy coat over his view on the world. He had seen only in dark grey colours for a long time, though he didn't remember why. But now, the worlds seemed swirling with brilliant colours, shining and glittering, illuminating the smile on his face as his thoughts wandered aimlessly to the letters he had received, the pain on the left side of his face nigh forgotten about, though it never left him truly. As often as the pain, flaring up every once in a while, pulled him out of the pleasant haze around his heart, the letters pulled him back in easily.

Orsino had delivered a few more letters to him, in the past week. Three letters in total and James devoured each one of them the moment he had received them and had opened them. Each letter explained to him in detail the reasons why the author of them was in love with James, and James could not keep the hot blush from his cheeks at every line. He was flattered, far beyond it, even. The more lines he devoured, the quicker his heart beat. With every line, he wanted to meet this man more and more. Who was this man that called himself Alexander and signed the letters as such? James longed to find out, he would love to reply to them, but as he didn't know who or where this man was, he could not have a letter come his way in response. Though he felt, somehow, like he didn't need to. It felt, so he thought, like this Alexander wouldn't stop sending him letters, whether James responded to them or not, and this showed how dedicated this man must be, and perhaps how in love.

James giggled at the lines he read, the compliments, woven with poetic beauty, and the declarations of love and devotion. The grin he wore would not leave his lips no matter how hard he pressed his hand against his mouth to keep the grin from widening.

He wished to find this man, though he had no idea how he would go about that. While Orsino evidently seemed to know where to find this man, James did not think it plausible that his carrier would lead him to this man, or could, for that matter. He found, while watching his carrier come and go in the past week, that Orsino scratched at the air and then disappeared, seemingly into nowhere. And wherever it disappeared to, or through, James was sure he could not follow, no matter how much he desired to.

Though he wondered what he could do to find this man, he was distracted with fantasies of what he thought this man might look like, how me might act like, and how his words may sound spoken aloud, or whispered into James' ear as the moon shines brightly above them and the stars twinkle in the night sky, skin warming skin in the cold of the night.

He covered his uncovered eye with his hand that had held his mouth tightly the moment before. The blush on his cheeks deepened even further, and he put the letter in his other hand onto the nightstand next to the bed. He gazed at the ceiling above him, where there were intricate paintings of a meadow by a forest in the night, a picture he did not remember seeing or painting onto the ceiling, but looking at it incited the very same feelings within his steadily beating heart as the letters or the thoughts and fantasies of the man who had written them. He imagined himself and the man, or the face James imagined this man wore, sitting there on that meadow in the middle of the night, talking quietly, laughing at each other's jokes and quips. He imagined they would sit with each other, leaning again each other as the stars above them glittered and the moon would gaze down at them softly and with tender affection.

He sighed with a happy smile, putting a hand over his heart, feeling it pound against his chest from within, as if trying to burst forth from the cage of his ribs and fly to this man to present itself to him, as he seemed, yes, to have captured it so quickly. Nothing in this moment seemed to be of importance, except the beating of his heart and the fantasies that swirled about in his head.

Nothing, not in this very moment, could ruin his love-struck mood or bring him down from this pleasant high he was riding atop of.

 

But he was not the only being in this realm to be struck by intense emotions, far from it.

Hercules wandered the realm below, deep in thought, contemplating and thinking about what was happening in his life. He had witnessed the sky being set on fire, and while he didn't know for sure that Aaron, his love, had anything to do with it, the whole affair reeked of Aaron's doing, it couldn't have been anyone, or anything else, Hercules was sure of this. And the other night, Hercules had looked up into the night sky, and found, one by one, every star disappeared before his very eyes from the darkness of the sky, and did not return the following night to decorate the sky. They had been stolen, Hercules had realised this the very same night, and had also realised whose doing it had been. He didn't know why, but he knew this, too, had been Aaron's doing, as with the set-on-fire sky the day before.

But something Hercules couldn't get behind was why Aaron was doing all of this. Aaron had told him why he was upset, but Hercules couldn't wrap his head around it, still. A dead god. He didn't know if he could believe that. There was something in the way Aaron had informed him of this, the desperate tones he'd been using, compelled him to believe it, but his nature as a muse made him question it, still. He wanted to believe it, believe that he could not remember so many things that seemed to have happened, the things he and Aaron had been through together. But something was holding him back, just out of reach from believing it fully.

But there was one thing he wanted, unlike anything he had ever wanted before, to breach this gap between himself and Aaron that existed now. He wanted to be rid of this gap and fill it up until it was no longer there. It wasn't only a gap between them, but also a wall that kept them apart, separating them. The top of the wall was just out of reach, only a few inches away from the grip of his hand, but just these few inches were enough to keep him on his side of the wall. It wouldn't let him cross it to his lover, and he resented it for this. He wished for nothing more than to be reunited with Aaron on more than a physical way, but also emotionally. He felt, for some time, like they were no longer equal in this sense, that Aaron had a deeper and superior understanding of him, but Hercules did not have the same understanding of him in return. They seemed to be on different levels altogether, and Hercules hated it. He had already upset Aaron once, pushing something that Aaron hated, but Hercules hadn't known, even though he should have known, at least according to what Aaron then informed him of.

He felt horrible, and he wanted to remedy this. He wanted to do something about this. He had to. He felt like he was losing Aaron, slowly, but surely, and he did not want that to happen, not ever.

He tried to remember. But, try as he might, he couldn't remember this dead god. He thought back to the day he had met Aaron. He and Thomas. They had found Aaron imprisoned in the palace, and helped him escape from it. He halted. Yes, they had found Aaron in the palace, but that didn't make sense. He remembered that the palace was invisible, even to his eye, from above, and he didn't remember finding the palace. Had Thomas found the palace? No, it would have been invisible to him, too. His mind became fuzzy at this point, trying to force a memory to the forefront that was forbidden from him. He remembered only helping Aaron escape from the palace, and the uncomfortable circumstances surrounding it, but not the how. He didn't remember how. There. Right there. There was a hole in his memory, he saw it clearly, a black hole, keeping him from seeing what should have been there.

That made more sense, a lot more sense. The haze on his mind lifted, but the hole remained, as did his frustrations with it. As he continued wandering through the town he had found himself in, letting himself be visible to the people, though they did not think to believe he was anything but a normal mortal, he let his gaze wander over the houses and huts. He noticed small details in the quickly, a plank of wood slightly out of place or some straw that seemed to be too thin for the season. It was early spring, and the first flowers were blooming brightly. People seemed to be happy around him, which fuelled his frustrations more. It was selfish, yes, but seeing the people around him seem so happy while he was struggling with his relationship seemed entirely unfair to him. It was in moments like these in which he cursed the goddess of Fate for weaving for him and Aaron such a destiny.

There was a hole in his memories, several holes, in fact. How could he only notice this now? It was glaring him in the face so clearly this very moment, how could he have not seen it before? It was preposterous how he did not notice before now. He sat down on a bench, holding his head in his hands. His head was pounding with a headache, he had found something in his mind he should not have, and it was punishing him for it.

Then, someone sat down next to him, draping their arm over the back of the bench while drinking from a mug of beer, by the smell of it.

"You look like you had a rough day," the man said, though he didn't even really look at Hercules.

Hercules looked up at him, looking him up and down. The man wore ragged clothing, like a beggar, and it was barely covering anything on his body, which incited some mild worry in Hercules for this stranger, as spring was still early and not nearly warm enough for this man to be comfortable like this.

"Not as much as yourself, by the looks of it," Hercules noted and the stranger snorted.

"Yeah? Well, a rough week, it was, for me, but who cares. You look like someone... who's struggling some bit about something or other."

"How astute of an observation," Hercules sighed and grumbled at himself.

"Aye, innit? Come on, strange man, looking like a man from the last century, what's your worries? Didn't get the part in a play? Jealous? Trouble sleeping? No, heart troubles?" the man grinned.

"You're tactless, you know."

"Had not enough life lived to know. Good to know now that I ain't got tact," the man shrugged and took a big gulp from his beer, "Heart troubles, then?"

"Something like that, I suppose..."

"Well, then, spill it," the man snorted.

"Why should I tell you, a stranger, anything?" Hercules spat back in his frustration, and the stranger laughed loudly and boldly, drawing the attention of a few people around him to him, who then looked at him with disdain.

"Aye! That's right why you should! And see, I'm drunk, man, I'll forget all you'll tell me. Least, tha's what I been told'll happen. So spill," the stranger proclaimed loudly, almost proudly.

Hercules gave it a thought and nodded. Why not, he thought, might as well have it off his chest.

"I... My lover and I... we don't seem to be seeing eye to eye anymore. And, by all means, that is not his fault, and... maybe not even my fault, but... It sure feels like it. I've... forgotten things. Many things. Very, very important things. And I didn't even know that I had forgotten them. Just, from one day to the next, he seemed to be completely different from what I remembered, but... The one who changed was me," Hercules sighed.

"That's rough buddy. Sounds like some bad amnesia to me," the stranger shrugged and took another swig of his beer, "Though maybe not so bad, you remember being with him."

"But now he's upset, and he has every right to be..."

"What's he done to help you?" the stranger asked.

"Well... He's..."

"Sounds like a load a nothin' to me, personally," he snorted and Hercules shook his head at him.

"He's been... I think taking revenge on those he thinks are responsible for... what did you call it?" Hercules asked.

"Amnesia. But man. What sort of lover takes revenge first and then care of their lover? Rude."

"Don't," Hercules warned, "He's been pushed too far, I don't blame him. He... scares me sometimes when he has that look in his eyes just before or right after he's done... something."

"He done anything to you?"

"No, never. In fact, it looks like I'm the only one, or the only thing, that can snap him out of this... state he's in. Even if only temporarily. I know he would never even consider hurting me, in any way, but the thought of him hurting other people to take revenge for me... that scares me. He doesn't scare me, but that look in his eyes. That anger. That... that _rage_. That's what scares me. Because that's not him. He's sweet and caring, truly lovely, and I love him with all my heart, all of it. But that look in his eyes is not him, not at all." Hercules felt lighter the moment those words left his lips, coming forth like water, crashing to the ground at his feet and gathering in a puddle.

"I see," the stranger nodded.

"What? No stellar advice?" Hercules scoffed.

"Nah, I ain't got any. Not yet. No experience under my belt, except for one thing," the stranger shrugged and chugged down more of his beer.

"Why do you drink so hastily? It's like you're trying to drown yourself in your beer," Hercules frowned.

"Maybe we should switch places. You'd rather have your memories back, I'd rather forget mine. I heard beer helps, if only temporarily. I've yet to be proven wrong in it." And with one last gulp, emptying his mug, the stranger got up from the bench and stood up straight, as if to leave.

"What's your name?" Hercules asked, curiously.

"Don't have one." The stranger shrugged and yawned. "I need a beehive."

Ignoring the last comment, Hercules asked, "How come you have no name?"

"My father and my twin brother died before I could be cursed with one. See ya never." The stranger gave one last wave and left with a spring in his step.

Hercules found this mortal peculiar, unsure of what to think of him. But he felt better, lighter, after spilling what was on his mind, even if it was to some stranger he would likely never see again as long as the stranger lived.

What a peculiar man, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like Fatum and Tempus as characters (and a couple, though you didn't see much of that), and I'm sad that I didn't get to really explore them in these past two chapters. If you're wondering why I didn't take the time to really get to know them and sorta rush through it, it's because of Aaron's anger. As we're seeing this world mostly through Aaron's eyes (as we're following him and what's going on inside of him more than anyone else right now), everything is tainted by how he views the world. And right now that's through a lense of rage and anger, emotions and states of being that speed things up, and for Aaron, this intense rage takes control over him, which means that he does not experience consciously what he does in these 'hazy blurs', meaning we don't get to experience it either.
> 
> This rage stage is going to feel really weird, pacing wise, in comparison to everything else I've written thus far. It's weird for me too, but this weird pacing is sorta important, because, while we skip some would-be interesting things happening to Aaron, it gives me the chance to do something... new.


	56. Chapter 56

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to get back into my old rhythm of updating on the weekends. I can't promise I'll be able to update every single weekend like I had managed to for some time in the past year, and I hope you guys understand. School and such take up a lot of my week (obviously) so it's gonna be a tad difficult finding time or sometimes even motivation to continue this. But I do want to continue this, and I don't want to keep you guys hanging if you like this story. I will continue this, don't worry, and I have things planned for this, so I'm not gonna abandon it in the middle of it (since the story is far from done). I've got the rest of this story planned as well as a prequel and a sequel (though one of the few things I haven't planned for them is which one I will write first, I'll put a summary in the end notes for the prequel and you tell me if you want that first, or at all, or if you'd rather have the sequel first, for which I can't give you a summary, because that would be pure spoiler for the end of this fic, obviously)

Fatum woke with no stars adorning the skies above and she was packed by anxiety. The sky was clear and dark, and she wasn't sure whether she was merely within her visions and it hadn't happened yet, or if this was the present. She was scarcely ever sure about where she was these days, whether what she saw was happening, or was yet to happen.

As Fate, she always suffered twice. Once as the vision of the future grabs ahold of her as she lets it, and a second time as it happens in the present. It was her duty. It was her duty to watch. She watched and she documented that which she saw. There was nothing else to it. All gods believed her to hold power over them all. They thought they could not be held accountable for their actions and that she decided what would happen in their lives, that she would decide on their lives. But such was not the case. It wasn't with her, or with her spouse.

Tempus tended to time. They were the guardians of the stream that held the sands of time. But they were not actually the one who created time. It had always been there, just like fate had always been there. Only when people had created a face for these concepts, did Fatum and Tempus appear. They were given life entirely by the people. And they were not bound to be worshipped, unlike those who were born from the people and from the world. Fatum and Tempus, fate and time would always exist, and if they would be forgotten, they would return to their former forms. They would go back where they had come from. No one knew where this... place was where they would go after they are forgotten. Fatum knew. She had seen it. She had seen it far too often. And she knew she would not go to the same place, and neither would Tempus. She and they would return to their first form. She would return to the silk of the world in the stream of time where Tempus would return to as well. And, as the two were as interwoven as life and death are, they would be together even then. There was no force that may separate fate and time, and thus there was no force that may separate Fatum and Tempus.

Anxiety packed her and she could hardly breathe. She knew what she must do, she knew she had to get up, she knew she had to fight the pain and go to the stream of time, and she will find it is redirected, and she will find Tempus only barely escaped with their heads still intact. She knew. She had already lived it once. And she would now experience it. It was always so much easier in her visions, yet all the same as when she would experience it.

She fought through the pain at her scalp and, with twitching and trembling limbs, all 16 of them, she got up, fighting the exhaustion filling her very being. She was filled with desperation, for the first time since she had foretold her own death at the hands of another god who felt betrayed by her because he thought she was responsible for his bad luck.

She fought herself onto her legs, wobbly like cooked noodles, and her head felt like it was spinning around in circles from the pain at her scalp. The fire had not burned her, not directly, and she was beyond relieved for this. She only had three strands of hair left, but the rest of her hair would never grow back, and she would never be able to weave the Fate of anyone ever again, and she would have those visions stick with her instead of expressing and thus releasing them to be somebody else's burden but hers.

She let out a pained sigh, her breath stuttering. She knew what had happened to her love. It had been painful to see the vision and see herself in that vision as well, as she was usually very detached as a person from those visions and rarely ever appeared in them herself. She knew what had happened and she knew what she had to do. So with all the little power she still felt at her fingertips she moved through the forest she had found herself in. The trees around her were tall and intimidating, but she knew quite exactly where she was. She was in the forest just behind where Alexander's palace used to be in. In half a mile she would find the gaping hole in the ground which Alexander had once ripped from it and placed it into the tornado.

She remembered this, even though Alexander is dead, and it wasn't quite that she was exempt from the rules of forgetting gods when they die like the Judge was. But rather because she had this god's tapestry and it returned to her the day Alexander died for the first time and began glowing dark the day he died the second time. Her personal memories of Alexander were removed, but she barely had any of them, to begin with, and the memories of the visions she had had of him remained, as they were rather detached from the reality she lived in.

With her eyes, she saw six futures and one present. She saw the futures that consisted of pain, of pleasure, death, life, wealth and misfortune. Only one of her eyes allowed her to look into and exist in the present, which made it more and more difficult each time to return to the present when six of her seven eyes are focused on what lay ahead. Very often, she could barely even drag herself back into the present, and usually relied on her carrier to bring her back to the current present if she could not return there on her own. Each time, she found worryingly, she stayed in this state for longer and longer. She found this worrying for the very simple reason that she saw in her visions that her downfall and subsequent would come upon her while being in such a state, watching the future pass before her and recording it in her work. And, in her vision of her death, she would be in this state of seeing the future with six of her eyes, and by this point, so she foresaw, her seventh eye would turn blind and she would not even notice being killed by the jealous god. The more visions she indulged in these days, the worse her eyesight in her seventh eye became, and she knew it would only be a matter time until she was fully blind on her seventh eye.

She fell as she stumbled over a root on the ground she didn't see. She had seen it before she would fall, so she did not bother to change it, even for her own advantage and convenience. It was not her place to go against her own destiny. She was fairly sure it wasn't even possible, her destiny was written in the stream of time and woven into the silk of the world. If she were to disturb it, as she has the knowledge of how to, it would disturb every reality within the world. She had decided long ago that she would never disturb that which held together the three worlds and the reality. Even if it meant that she would accept her death, and the death of her loved ones.

She came across the gaping hole in the ground where, once upon a time, Alexander's palace had stood, before he had ripped it from the ground and placed it in a tornado to prove a point and keep a very dangerous creature safe from those who wanted to kill it. Fatum recalled the creature. Every god assumed the creature had been a beast, but it had been one of Alexander's own creations. Namely, the very storm and tornado that protected his palace, while the palace gave the storm and tornado the magical power to do this. They were titans he had created, but over time, as the palace's magic had influenced them, they had lost their minds and Alexander had been forced to remove their minds altogether, leaving them only their form as a tornado and a storm. She remembered seeing in her vision how torn up Alexander had been, as those titans he had created had been like children to him, and they had been hunted by the people and by the gods because of their nature, and he had been forced to remove their minds in order to keep them safe. It had been very tragic, and it had caused Alexander to lash out at the world and send blizzards into the houses of all who had hunted his creations, gods and mortals alike.

Even though she remembered seeing this in her visions, she forbade herself from feeling pity for him or for his creations, as much as it hurt her. She had heard the titans cry, both in her visions and then in the present, the cries of pain of the titans Alexander had created had travelled even to her and the sound alone was enough to break her heart and feel sympathy, even though she had forbidden herself from feeling such, in order to keep herself from intervening. But this time she could not have kept herself from feeling pity, but she had managed to keep herself from intervening nonetheless. This incident had taught her that she may allow herself to feel pity and that this would not make her more inclined to intervene. Quite the opposite. Though she had felt pity, she had felt no need to intervene, at all. It may sound cruel or selfish of her, but the fact remained that despite her knowledge she may never, ever, change the course of fate and time.

She had felt awful for the pain the Titans had had to go through, the cries that had echoed through the three realms, but as she was forbidden from intervening with the knowledge of how to change the future if she so desired, she could have done nothing but bear the sound of those pained cries as Alexander had been forced to remove their minds from their forms.

She passed by the gaping hole in the ground and passed through the forest, dragging most of her limbs behind herself, scraping them miserably across the earthy ground. She wished to return to before. She wished for her hair to be on her head again, instead of having burned up the sky.

She found the stream of time as it existed manifested in this reality. She found what she had already seen in her visions, though she had dreaded this sight from the moment she had seen it first.

Before her, laid her love in a bloody mess of body parts. Beheaded. All three heads. Fatum had been prepared to find her loves' body like this, but she was still taken aback by the reality of it.

She took in a harsh breath and knelt down, taking each head and their body in her hands.

"Oh, my loves. I'm sorry." She was quiet and set down the left and right head to have more free hands to do her work. She had three strands of hair left, and she knew what she was to do now. She plucked one strand from her head and pulled out one of her needle-like teeth from her mouth and threaded the hair through it. She then proceeded to stitch the middle head, with its long hair, to the neck stump in the middle. It took her some time, throughout which she kept talking to her loves.

"I'm sorry, love. I wish this did not have to happen to you. I wish you had been spared this... destiny. I wish you had been spared this pain, the fear I know you felt. I wish all this had not happened. Oh, my loves, I am so very sorry." She mumbled quietly and ran her free hands through the head's hair while she was stitching the head back onto the body. "Steady. Slow and steady, love, see? Almost good."

And when she was done stitching this head back onto the body, she moved onto the left one and chuckled as her hands got tangled in this one's crazy curls.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know you of all would forgive me first for this, but I'm still sorry," she kissed the head as she plucked her second hair out of her own head and began stitching, "I hope the others were kind with you these past few months. I wish I were with you more often. You three should steal me away more often, you know?" She giggled, "I bet the others would love the idea if you gave it to them."

She finished stitching this head on as well and moved on to the last one. She plucked her last hair out and began stitching this head back onto the body.

"I am very sorry, my heart. I know you were most stressed by this, and I apologize. I wish so much stress hadn't been put on you." She kissed the head in apology and brushed her hands through the hair, knowing this head loved that the most out of all the heads. It did wonders calming this head down from the constant anxiety they were feeling. Of course, the anxiety would not disappear entirely, it never did with this one, but Fatum did manage to get this one to smile and calm down a little. "I hope you won't hate me for this. I wish I could have changed this for you."

And she finished stitching on this head as well. She then carried the body of her loves over to the stream of Time. She dipped the right head into the beginning of the stream. Then she carried the body further down the stream and dipped the middle head into the middle of the stream. And lastly, she carried the body to the last available part of the stream even further down, just before the stream disappeared, as it had been redirected by Aaron before, and dipped the left head into the stream as well. Golden sand was stuck glittering in their hair. Fatum thought to herself that this golden glimmer looked rather good on them.

She took the body and carried it away from the stream to the little hut she knew was just on the other side of the stream. She had been in there often, though not as often anymore these days as she did when they had first married, or even before that before marriage was common amongst the gods. She looked down at her second left arm, where there was a golden bracelet that Tempus had gifted her for their wedding. Fatum had gifted them a bejewelled bracelet in return with an ancient spell engraved on the inside of it to keep them safe. The spell had been relatively weak, as those sort of spells for safety tended to be, so she was not surprised it barely helped keep Tempus safe from Aaron. Then again, with all the things he had done in the past, it wasn't much of a surprise he would be powerful enough for this.

She carried Tempus into the little hut they owned, and she frowned when she saw the dust everywhere. In the past few centuries, four maybe, Tempus had been looking for a sand kernel that was heavier than the others, put in there by Alexander as a prank. She gently laid Tempus onto their bed, unused for so many years, and kissed each head.

"Rest, my loves. I will bring you some tea from the stream and you will be better in a few days, yes?" Fatum smiled and left the hut for the stream after grabbing a jug to get the sand from the stream which she could make tea out of, specifically made for each head. The right head preferred their tea with three thorns from the Winding Woods, the middle head preferred their tea with unicorn tears, and the left one preferred their tea with goat milk.

Thankfully, the little hut was fully stocked with all these supplies and there was a goat for these purposes directly next to the hut to be milked. She carried the jug of sand from the stream inside and poured it into the special kettle. Below the kettle was a stove with golden fire, from a long time ago, gifted to them, still burning fervently. The sand was soon turned into liquid and she prepared three cups. She, personally, did not like the tea made from the stream, she preferred the water by her cave from that little spring. She put a bit of the liquid sand aside in a separate mug, for healing from the outside while the tea would heal on the inside.

She took the mug with the liquid sand and sat down by Tempus, dipping one of her hands into the liquid and putting it around their throats so that the wounds may heal. Moments after she was done, the left head jerked away with a sharp gasp and a cough. Fatum was quick to hand them their preferred tea but ended up holding the cup for them, because they had no control over the left arm at that moment.

The left head greedily drank the tea and had it empty in thirty seconds, not caring whether they burned themselves in the process.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Fatum smiled and kissed their cheek. The left head smiled lazily.

"That was a rough day, aye?" the left head said and yawned.

"It- Its sure was..." Fatum replied, tears welling in all her seven eyes that she did not allow to be spilt.

"No, love, none of this was your fault. Come here," they replied and Fatum came closer, and they surprised her with a kiss. "None of this is your fault. You don't make our fate, despite your name."

"I know, it's just... I feel bad... I could have stopped this..."

"You couldn't have. You and I know this was meant to be. You know what comes next, and I do too. You are Fatum. You _are_ Fate. You do not create it, it has already been created. None of this is your fault, love, you are doing all that you can, as are we. And we cannot do more than this. Tell me, before the others wake, what shall happen next? The Traveller... you told me of him once, I remember, and you were concerned."

"That was centuries ago..." Fatum said surprised.

"You think I wouldn't remember? You were concerned about the Traveller. Aaron is the Traveller, isn't he?" they asked.

"He is."

"Then, my heart, what happens now? You foretold me that the Traveller shall destroy and create, often in the same breath. What else will he do? What will he do to the other gods?" they asked.

"He... he has redirected the stream of time to run through the dead wind's garden. It will not change anything in time, don't worry. But he will steal more. He shall steal Spring's Flowers, Summer's golden Honey Bees, Autumn's Leaves and Winter's Snowflakes," Fatum answered.

"The seasons' means to change?" the left head asked, almost sounding surprised.

"He will place them in a contraption that rotates them as the world demands. You would think at his whim it would cause chaos, but it causes just as much as it does already. But he will also steal the Seven Blades of War and he will use them to steal the Judge's Pegasus. It is the last thing he shall steal, and soon after-"

"No, no more," they smiled, "I see it pains you to recall those visions."

"I will be blind one day," Fatum blurted out.

"Blind?"

"My seventh eye will be blind. And I will not be able to return to this reality. I will forever view the future. And then I will die. And you will only follow a century after."

"No wonder you've been so... concerned. Your vision is worsening in your seventh eye, innit?" they asked. "It's been turning grey. The others have yet to notice."

"They're busy, I can tell..."

"And we cannot change it..." they nodded.

"You will tell them after I've died. And they will blame themselves until you convince them not to. You will never tell them what they are doing is a senseless task," Fatum said with a heavy heart.

"So many senseless tasks, what difference makes one more?" they chuckled lazily.

"I don't suppose it does." The tears in her eyes threatened to fall.

"Now, don't you frown, my love. I wish you to be happy," they smiled.

"What have I to be happy about, except you?" she asked, some tears managing to spill.

"Then let us make you happy, love," they gave her another kiss, and Fatum couldn't help but chuckle.

Then, the middle head gasped and jerked awake, and Fatum was quick to hand them their tea, which they were able to take, as they had control over the left arm. They drank the tea quickly, but not as quickly as the left head had, and they began coughing after they had finished it.

"Are you all right, love?" Fatum asked after the middle head of Tempus stopped coughing.

"Yes, sweetheart. But are you all right? Your hair... it's entirely gone," the middle head gasped upon looking at Fatum closer. "Goodness, what happened to you..."

"Aaron, the Traveller, he took revenge for what has happened to both the dead wind and the muse. It doesn't matter, the fire has barely burned me. Only my hair has suffered."

Suddenly, with a harsh jerk and breathless gasp, the right head woke, twitching and jerking around. Fatum looked at them with worry, as did the middle head while the left head looked like they were going to fall asleep any moment now, disinterested in what was happening. Fatum reached for the last cup of tea and handed it to the right head, who took it after a moment longer of twitching. They took the most time drinking their tea and breathed in deeply afterwards. Then they took one moment to look at Fatum and they gasped.

"Love, goodness, no, what happened to you?!" they gasped and attempted to make them all get up to take a closer look upon Fatum's wounds, but she lightly pressed on their chest to make them lay back down.

"No, no getting up. You three need to rest. I haven't been badly hurt, don't worry, my heart. Only my hair is gone-"

"Will it come back?! Those look like burns!" the right head worried.

"It won't. It was silver fire that burned my hair, and it set the skies ablaze. But there is no need to worry, I am fine, considering," she smiled reassuringly and squeezed their hands and giving each of them a kiss. "No need to worry."

"B-but... But you need your hair, don't you?" the right head asked very concernedly, their eyes moving quickly, inspecting the damage done.

"I will live. This won't kill me, my heart," she kissed their forehead lovingly.

"Stop worrying, you will give us all anxiety," the middle head chided.

"Now, don't say that. I know I look unsightly and hurt like this, and they can't help but worry. I would worry too if either of you looked half as bad as me today," she smiled kindly at them and the middle head of Tempus went to kiss her cheek.

"You are a blessing, sweetheart," the middle head sighed with a smile.

"You are a blessing, all three of you. Now, rest some more. I would hate for any of you not to be rested after such a stressful day. You especially," she looked at the right head, "I'm sure this is the most you've slept in centuries, my heart."

"Perhaps, but I get things done, at least."

"Now, we don't want this to break out into a fight amongst you, now do we?" Fatum lightly chided.

"I suppose not... Was the sky really on fire?" the right head asked.

"It was set ablaze quite frightfully. Though I shall be honest, I haven't seen it myself in the present as it happened. I did foresee it," Fatum nodded.

"I worry for your health, love. You suffer twice through your visions, even if you do not have to, and this cannot be healthy," the right head worried.

"It is my duty," Fatum explained, like so many times before, patiently, "And I cannot change it, as much as I wish I could. And I wish I could."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The summary for the prequel I have planned:  
> 'Before Alexander's deaths disturbed the three realms, things were different. Alexander was well-liked, no god had to fear for their safety if they had not done anything wrong. Things seemed easier, even if they still had some problems to deal with. There would always be a mortal that was extraordinary in one way or another, but they don't usually pose much of a problem as they were usually powerful, and thus feared instead of worshipped like a god. Times were different for the gods, and in their lives, ordinary things happened as regularly as odd things that one would rather associate with the life of a god. For example, two special gods, the god of Wind and the god of the Moon are pining for each other, convinced that the other does not feel the same, frustrating everyone who can see, very clearly, how in love they are with each other.'
> 
> It's gonna be full of fluff and angst, because we know what will happen in the end, but it would let you have a peek into how the realms were like before Aaron ... 'graced' them with his presence.


	57. Chapter 57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Hope you enjoy this one! There's violence in this chapter, so look out!

It occurred to Hercules that he should probably not return home to the palace or to Aaron for as long as Aaron remains in this state of anger and blind vengeance. Thus he decided he should visit some of those he should consider his friends. He was sure it would be in his and Aaron's best interest if he were to leave for a bit. Which is why he decided to visit his fellow muses. It was a clear day, though the sun wasn't burning as brightly as it should, and Hercules made his way through the woods to the waterfall and pond to the realm of the dead. There his fellow muses sat on the stones surrounding the pond, chatting animatedly amongst themselves, their expressions set in fascinated confusion.

"You say you dreamt the same thing?" Peggy asked and Samuel nodded.

"Nearly, yes! A no-faced creature calling to me. But then he flew off," Samuel confirmed.

"Odd thing, that no-faced creature! You think those dreams mean something as we all have them?" Charles asked, but Peggy looked at him with disdain, though she knew not why.

"If they meant anything, it wouldn't surprise me. Perhaps the golden times shall return?" John guessed.

"The golden times? When we had dreams that viewed the future?" Hercules walked into the clearing, making himself with the questions and directing their collective attention on him.

"Hercules? Where have you gone to?" Peggy was surprised to see him, and there was this feeling of dislike within her, though she could not place why she felt this.

"With my lover, I recall you know..." Hercules answered, though, even at this moment, it did not feel right to talk to these people he should think of as his friends.

"Your lover? Of course, yes... We... we remember," John started. They didn't. They scarcely remembered a thing about these incidents that had made them dislike both Hercules and Charles. But none of them dared to speak up about it lest they appear odd to the others in their group. Hercules sat down on the one empty rock by the pond, where he had sat many, many years ago.

"And what are you doing here then if you have your lover to be with?" Samuel asked, though with no malice, even though his words would indicate otherwise.

"He is..." he thought back to the look in Aaron's eyes, "Currently very busy... What have you been up to? Only good, I hope?"

"We've been inspiring people in need, as is our duty. Quite recently, one of John's has become an acclaimed playwright of tragedies. The people can barely see the actors through their tears!" Peggy recounted and Hercules could see a small smile of pride on John's otherwise gloomy face.

"That is rather an accomplishment!" Hercules cheered, "Congrats!"

"And yourself?" John then asked. And suddenly, Hercules realised with a start that he had been rather neglectful towards his own duties as the muse of Poetry.

"I... haven't had too much time recently to properly tend to my duties undisturbed, you see," Hercules looked to the side, his gaze resting upon the waterfall, uneasily.

"Is that so?" Samuel asked. "Well, that won't do! Quick, return to your duties! Who knows how many have been in a slump because of this!"

Hercules nodded and pulled out the infinite parchment and infinite ink. He began his work, his duty, of which he had been so neglectful in the past years.

James laid on his bed, giddily reading through more letters Orsino had brought him and getting infinite pleasures from reading them thoroughly. It was quiet in the moon, except for his giggles and Orsino's frequent purring. Orsino decided it would bring James one letter per week, and as of now, he had 'delivered' three letters to James already, and there would be many more to be delivered to him. Alexander had tended dutifully to writing so many letters, but never sending them at all.

"I do wonder where I could find this man, this person. I admire their skill of weaving words that break into my heart and affections so easily. Orsino, are you sure you could not lead me to him?" he turned to Orsino who gave a light, non-threatening growl in response to James' question. "I suppose not. But I would love to meet him one day..."

Orsino gave a chirp, got up and stretched with a yawn. It had been a busy day and night for it and it would rather just sleep for the next century or so, but there were always matters that wished to be attended to. Orsino would not leave James for the rest of the night, of course, James was far too prone to nightmares he didn't remember after all and Orsino would have to make sure he would go back to sleep after that as much as he needs to. The nightmares James had to a worrying amount in the past three weeks were not the only thing that was off. During the night, Orsino often noticed a horse flying past the moon, sometimes even resting on top of it. Those were the nights, coincidentally, in which James suffered from the worst sort of nightmares. But the matter that James forgot them each time he woke up was the more worrying part. Orsino wished it could stop James from having these nightmares, or at least know what sort of nightmares he had to comfort him in a more specific manner each time, but such was simply not possible for the carrier's little powers. It was by far no mindreader, nothing of the sort, but at times like these, it really wished it was. Orsino wished it could help James, but for now, all it could do was comfort him like it always did and bring him a letter per week as additional comfort in these times.

James smiled and put the letter in his hand away, into a small chest where he had collected the letters he has been sent up until now. He smiled gently at the little chest in front of him as he closed his, brushing his fingers over the little patterns crafted into the top of the chest. The patterns, upon closer inspection he found, were leaves twirling about, carried by thin lines that James supposed were supposed to represent wind carrying the leaves from one side to another. For a moment, James halted, raising his brow. He looked over to Orsino with a mild look of confusion on his face.

"Orsino, do tell, where have we got this chest from? I don't remember getting it, unfortunately," James hummed to himself. Orsino scrambled onto the desk upon which the little chest stood.

Orsino inspected the little chest. It chirped, very surprised. This was the same chest that Orsino had seen in Alexander's palace. It remembered this distinctly. Alexander's carrier had shown it to Orsino once. Back then, Orsino had not thought much of it, it had been a simple little chest. But Orsino recognized the smell. It smelled, very faintly, of Alexander and his carrier. Orsino tipped its head to the side. It was rather confusing, to find such an item that had been in Alexander's palace the last time Orsino had seen it. But why had Alexander's carrier shown this chest to Orsino?

Orsino chirped in a way that it hoped to convey that it did not know. James seemed to get its meaning and nodded.

"Well, I suppose I shall retire to bed then for the day," James said, followed by a quiet yawn and a stretching of limbs. He moved his hand to remove all light from the room as he laid himself to bed. Though, before he did so, he pulled out a bottle from his nightstand in which the creamy liquid for his left eye was kept. The pain flared up only sometimes, not very often now that he consistently soothed it with the medicine. There was not much in the bottle, though, anymore, and James worried about when he would have to ask Aaron for more or be in pain again. He laid himself down to rest, and the moment he fell asleep, Orsino grabbed the chest of letters and opened it quietly. It pulled out the letters and put them to the side carefully as to not damage them, even by accident. It put its nose inside and sniffed, looking for where Alexander's scent was thickest. It was at the very bottom of the little chest, and a few nudges later, it found a little hole in the bottom of the chest. With a bit of prying, it pulled the second bottom out of the chest. This revealed a little bit of paper at the actual bottom of the chest. Orsino pulled it out the piece of paper and unfolded it. It was a letter, shock of all shock.

But it wasn't addressed to James. It was addressed to someone else. Namely Orsino itself.

_To Orsino_

_Hello, little critter! I have a favour to ask of you. In the event of my death, a very likely occurrence, I would ask of you to retrieve a certain artefact and bring it into my palace. As you may be aware of, my palace is filled to the brim with very curious things, artefacts and creatures alike, most of them dangerous to anyone who doesn't know how to handle them. As you should also be aware, my palace relies mostly on my own power to stay afloat and functioning without me inside. However, after my death, if there is no one of equal power to me actively keeping it up, the palace will lose its power. Now, it won't lose its power immediately, I keep enough magical artefacts inside to keep it afloat for a while, though I can't tell you just how long it will stay afloat on its own._  
_Now to the favour, I need to ask of you. As you would be the only one to remember me or at least the only carrier I might be able to convince of this, I ask you to retrieve an artefact for me, a very special one. A very special crystal. Namely, the crystal of Kings. I already have the crystal of Queens and the Ruler's crystal, if the crystal of Kings is added to the other two, they will merge into the crystal of Power, keeping my palace afloat and running on its own. Now where to find that crystal of Kings:_  
_There's a cave at the bottom of the ocean, a green cave, near the cliffs of Galifreyak, where the house of wisdom stands upon. In that cave, there is a bubble of air (so don't worry about breathing) and further back there are ten doors, each with a riddle. You can ignore them, though, because none of them is what you want to look out for. There's a trap door just before them, where you need to take the keys from the doors and place them inside the keyholes in a certain order. Heart key, gold key, silver key, ruby key, eye key, puzzle key, triangle key, fish key, bone key and ring key. Then the trap door opens and there's another puzzle. Now, I don't quite remember the solution to this one, but I remember it being rather simple. After this a door will open, leading you to the crystal of Kings. It's a big one, so you'll have some difficulties getting it down, but I'm sure you'll manage._  
_When you retrieved it, bring it to my palace, to the northern hall (the defence mechanism will not recognize you as a threat). There is a silver door, open it, and bring the crystal inside to the others and push them together. They'll merge and keep my palace running. Help yourself to some eggs and milk from the woolmilkpigs afterwards as a reward._  
_Thank you!_

_Alexander_

_PS: I put a potion in here should you want to take the long route through the water and need something to make you breathe underwater._

Orsino chirped quietly, and put the second bottom back into the chest, but kept the letter from Alexander. James may never see it, or he may come closer to the truth. Orsino stuffed the letter down its mouth, storing it, and scratched a hole into reality and jumped through it. It knew exactly where it needed to go, the cliffs of Galifreyak were easily found, especially as Orsino had spent a lot of time in the house of wisdom that Alexander mentioned in the letter.

It scurried through outside reality, meeting a few other carriers, but it only stopped for one other. Fate's carrier, Olivia. It stopped to talk to it quickly, exchanging quick information. Olivia seemed sad and Orsino gave her his condolences for what had happened to Fatum. Olivia assured him that it couldn't have been changed either way, that it had to happen. Olivia also assured him that in the future, so it knew, it would die along with Fatum, and when Orsino attempted to comfort it, it simply told Orsino that it was also fine with this destiny for itself. Orsino hurried away after that. There was a reason why he did not like Olivia all that much. She wasn't terrible, wasn't arrogant, but there was something odd about her. Orsino didn't want to sound superficial, though it could not name the reason why it did not like Olivia so properly. In the end, it hardly mattered, so Orsino just went on its merry way, doing a favour for a dead god.

It wanted the palace to stay after all, because of Alexander's carrier. It had its grave there and it would break Orsino's little heart anew were this grave to disappear along with the palace. And thus it did as asked of it. It found the cliffs, found the cave, the doors and the trapdoor, scurried through the puzzle quickly (Alexander had been right, it was rather easy) and he got to the crystal. It was twice as large as Orsino was and it would be hard to stuff down its mouth, that was for sure, but Orsino did not back down from it.

Later, when all was done and Orsino carried the crystal to Alexander's palace, it opened the door that Alexander had told it to and found the other crystals inside. It patted its stomach and opened its mouth, a glow coming from it, manifesting into the crystal of King. It then pushed the crystal towards the others. The crystal of Queens glowed a radiant golden, emitting a powerful purpose while the Ruler's crystal emitted a soft, almost kind green glow, caressing the room with its gentle light. The crystal of Kings, on the other hand, was a bright orange, looking as if it was burning and Orsino watched as they latched onto each other and changed colours to a rich purple. The crystals appeared to melt together in a radiant glow of colours meshing and colliding until finally it stood before Orsino as one single crystal, mighty and radiating with unspeakable power. Orsino was in awe at the burning purple colour, shining brightly, kindly within the room, screaming at the top of its lungs of its power it held within. Orsino put a paw atop it but had to pull it away as if it was burned. It felt much like it, admittedly.

 

Aaron had stolen the seasons' means to change. Spring's Flowers, Summer's Golden Honey Bees, Autumn's Leaves and Winter's Snow. He did not recall doing so, he had been utterly out of it and out of control of his entire body, though he barely realised this, much less viewed it as a problem to be taken care of and remedied. He stood now before the palace keeping the seven gods of War within, and his rage surged within him anew. These were the gods who finally brought him to the Judge on trial, and they had wanted him dead, like everyone else, which was exactly why they would be another target of the vengeful spirit he was becoming.

He tore through the walls of the palace, startling the gods inside into action. The seven gods, he knew not their names and cared little to know them at all, charged at him with their blades drawn. He evaded them and had the rage take over this battle as well. He took the Spy by the neck and hurled him at the Colonel, knocking them both out. The Soldier was quick on his feet and Aaron only very nearly dodged all of his attacks at once, but he managed to rid him of his blade and stabbed it into his throat instead. The Lieutenant and two others ran at him with they blades raised over their head, he stabbed the Lieutenant and threw his body at the other two. The General was the last one standing, looking at Aaron with terrified, yet cold eyes. He raised his blade, a long sword, which summoned all the other blades, even the one in Aaron's hands, to his side, floating by him.

He had the blades attack Aaron as one, but he pulled out the tornado staff and blew the attack off and to the side. The winds around them picked up and Aaron raised his staff once more, summoning a huge tornado at the tip of his staff and slinging it at the General, hitting him and tearing his flesh open, forcing him to drop his blade with which he controlled the other six. The blade fell to the ground with a loud clang, which was drowned out by the scream coming from the General's throat. Then, everything was quiet and still. Aaron took a few steps in the General's general direction, but he stopped at the blade. He picked it up and swung it around experimentally. The other six blades came to him and followed his movements, his directions. Aaron hummed, intrigued, the harsh rage subsiding below his skin for a moment as he inspected the blade in his hands.

It was a rather powerful blade, he felt its power coursing through his veins as he wielded it. It made him feel strong, in control. He gave it another swing, cutting through the air with a rather satisfying swish sound as the other six blades followed suite. He smiled. he would take them with him. They might come in handy some time later. Perhaps even the very same day.

Aaron decided then that the Judge has not yet suffered enough losses in comparison to what he had actually caused Aaron to lose. The Judge forced him to lose Alexander and Hercules, and Aaron had made him pay only for one of them by hurting the Judge so severely and stealing from him his hammer. But there was one more thing he knew the Judge held close to his heart which would hurt him if it was ever taken from by some outside force, in this case, Aaron's vengeful spirit manifesting inside. His Pegasus.

Aaron had heard of this creature from stories told in the realm below. The Judge had been one of the few gods he knew a bit more about, considering his lack of education granted him. He knew the Judge had this Pegasus and had acquired it after he had slain a mighty beast that had plagued the realm below and had threatened the same destruction upon the realm of gods. As the Judge had slain the mighty beast, so Aaron recalled from the story, the Pegasus had flown from its severed head and bowed down to the Judge's might and it was said that it had vowed its loyalty to what had slain the beast.

Aaron snuck into the Judge's palace, plan forming steadily in his mind. He hurried through the winding hallways in which he had been some time before. He noted that it was lacking in the tapestry that had once decorated every wall. A shame for the good work destroyed, but Aaron did not bother with feeling any guilt. He found his way through the palace to the stables. There the Pegasus stood, wings kept close to its body as it grazed upon the fresh green grass in the meadow by the stables.

The pegasus' head snapped up at Aaron, noticing him immediately. It blinked curiously at him, then trotted over to him steadily, spreading its wings in a stretch and pulling them to its body again. The moment it arrived at Aaron it nuzzled his chest as if expecting him to give it something.

Suddenly, a very familiar voice called from behind Aaron.

"No! No, please!" It was the Judge calling out. He knew what was happening, he knew, by one look alone what Aaron's plan was. He had to stop him.

Aaron looked at him unimpressed.

"Please! She's the only thing you've left me!" The Judge begged pathetically. Aaron threw him a hateful glare. He raised the General's blade, followed by the six other blades, and directed them to attack the Judge. Dutifully, the blades shot forward and dove into the Judge's flesh, opening up scars that had barely healed, one digging into his throat, letting him gag on his own blood. Then Aaron put the blade to his back with his staff, the other blades following shortly. He turned back to the Pegasus, who was looking at him with respect.

He saw instantly that this pegasus was a very proud and stubborn creature, and earning its respect felt like a big thing. The pegasus seemed to nod and then moved to stand beside Aaron so that he could get on top of it to ride it. Aaron nodded back, accepting the invitation and hopped onto the pegasus, shifting a bit here and there to sit in a way that was comfortable for both him and the Pegasus at the same time. When he was finally properly sat, he took ahold of the pegasus' mane and trusted it to fly him. It began running and spread its wings and moments later, they were up in the air, running across the clouds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the Pegasus, one of my favourite mythical animals!


	58. Chapter 58

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rage is over. the next stage follows quick

Aaron arrived home, in Alexander's palace, and he felt lighter atop the Pegasus he rode. Lighter, yes, he did feel like a weight, though not a large one, was lifted from his shoulders. Or rather, from his head. His vision, too, seemed to clear dramatically, the difference was clearly visible and very noticeable. He had the pegasus land before the main entrance into the palace. He jumped off it and led it inside, through a couple of doors until he found the stables that were not currently in use. He led the pegasus there and left it, leaving it with food and an open door to the meadow of the woolmilkpigs if it desired to spread its wings or have a walk around if it became bored.

Aaron wandered through the palace, looking for Hercules, but he did not find him. Instead, he found an empty and cold bed that looked like it hadn't been slept in in a while. He let his fingers wander over the silk of the sheets and blankets, his fingers looking for any of the warmth he thought must be here, but he found none of it. His expression turned to a dim sadness.

Then, his sweeping gaze hit a little black phial sitting innocently upon the desk in the room across from the bed. He approached it slowly, quietly. An idea began to set in his mind. Alexander is dead, he knew this. Oddly enough, the by now familiar flame of rage did not begin to burn once again inside him, to consume him. But instead, there was guilt.

If he had just kept his promise and had built temples for Alexander and if he had gathered people to worship him once more, then he would be alive right now. If Aaron had given it more thought in his search for Alexander, if he hadn't believed Thomas' words when Alexander had gone missing, he would have found Alexander earlier, and all of this could have been prevented. If he had just acted quicker. If he had just done something earlier. If he had just...

If he had just kept his promise from the start.

He remembered it, the promise he had given Alexander. He had promised him that as soon as he was no longer a prisoner of the palace he had been kept in, he would have temples built in Alexander's name and gather a group of people to spread the faith and worship Alexander so he may once again regain his status as a god and return to his former glory. He had broken his promise, Aaron realised. He had broken his promise to Alexander, who was now victim of the consequences of this.

Aaron took the phial and quietly stared at it. Inside, so he knew too well, was a dandelion seed, the last remains of Alexander. Thankfully, it wasn't the only proof of his existence, but it might as well be, seeing as no one cared enough to try and remember. Of course, no one knew there was anything they had forgotten, so who was he to blame them for not trying. Then again, Aaron cared little for who he was.

He had promised Alexander he would build him temples. He had promised Alexander he would gather him a group of worshippers. His grip on the phial in his hand tightened. He would. He would keep his promise.

In this moment of quiet determination, he couldn't notice the next parasite taking its place inside him where previously rage had sat. Guilt. It was here to consume him, but it would do so more quietly, subtle.

As Aaron looked onto the vial he grew sad. Guilt began to eat at him and tears began to well in his eyes. This was his fault. Entirely his fault. He knew it was his fault and barely anyone else's. If he had been quicker, had noticed it sooner, hadn't been so preoccupied. If, if, if. Too many ifs to consider them all at once, or he may implode at the mere thought of another if. But he couldn't help it, and he couldn't care less if he would implode at another thought, he thought it anyways. If he had been faster. If he had just not been so stupid and let himself be fooled by someone whom he clearly could not trust. Hindsight.

With a tight grip on the vial, he rubbed the tears from his eyes, though he did not succeed in stopping them, and he stepped out of the bedroom and found his way through a couple of doors until one of them led him outside into the gardens. The singing paradise flowers sang their songs solemnly, a depressing melody if ever he had heard one. The stone garden lay quietly and judging on its own side, the pattern shifting on its own to another that Aaron could not recognize, though it looked, if you squinted right, like the Qjuanjoithan symbol for _hope_. Aaron had no eyes for the shifting pattern of the stone garden, all his attention was focused on the vial in his hand and to make sure the tears in his eyes did not obscure his vision. He made an entrance for a new section of the gardens.

He kneeled down with the vial in his hands. He looked at it solemnly, the tears welling up in his eyes escaping one after the other. Alexander was dead. Alexander was dead and it was Aaron's fault. Alexander deserved better than this, better than Aaron, who had not kept his promise to him. Slowly, Aaron dug a tiny hole into the ground with two fingers. Then, the tilted the vial so that the dandelion seed fell out of it into the palm of his hand. After a few moments of his longing gaze staring intently at the seed, Aaron dropped the seed into the hole in the ground he had just made and covered it with earth. He knew the earth in the gardens were the most fertile earth that could ever be found anywhere in the three realms. 

Then, he let his guilt take over in its consumption of his, and the pain of it was so great that it pushed him to cry tears the size of stones that watered the little seed before him.

An hour passed before his guilt let go of his heart for a moment and he could not cry another tear, for he was numb for that day. Then, he decided, with determination fed by guilt, he would keep his promise, finally. He ignored the fact that there was a glance of hope in the back of his mind, hoping that if he builds the temples and gathers a group of worshippers for Alexander, that maybe he would return from being dead and gone. He ignored that he had this hope that spurred him on entirely.

He dried his tears when he had no more to cry for that day and he stood up. With a last look of guilty determination shot towards the spot he buried the seed in, he finally managed to pull himself away. He knew what he had to do. He had never thought before about how he would have the promise kept, how the temples would be built. Back then, he had barely given it any thought how he would keep that promise, but now the gears of his mind were turning, the years that tested his cunning paying him off now.

He exited the palace and the surrounding storm and tornado and left for the realm below. He took his tornado staff with him, as always, and he began gliding down to the place where he knew very exactly he would get the help for his little project that he needed.

He stood before the familiar palace. Guards were placed before the gate, just like last time, but Aaron wasn't sure whether they were the same ones as the last time he had paid a visit.

"Halt!" the guard on the left called and held out his arm to stop Aaron from just walking through the gate, which wasn't opened either way, "Who goes there?" 

"Is Merdi still the queen ruling these lands?" Aaron asked instead. The guard on the left suddenly seemed to recognise him.

"You, you've been here before, haven't you?" the guard on the left asked with an unhappy growl, "You were with others here last time. Where'd you leave your little party?"

"I assume they're doing what they please. You have yet to answer my question, however," Aaron asked, making sure he sounded just the right amount of impatient.

"Yeah, she is. What do you want?" the left guard snarled.

"To speak to her. I would have thought that much is obvious. Would you let me in?" he asked, far too politely. The right guard looked utterly confused and looked at his partner for answers.

"No. I would not let you in." The left guard snarled at him and Aaron shook his head.

"Oh well..." he said and raised the tornado staff. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the spear the guards were holding flying and forced the gate open. "Sorry, but me asking was a mere formality."

And with this he strode inside, through the gates and into the palace where he easily found his way to the throne room in which he found Merdi sitting on the throne, looking up at him surprised. She wore silk robes, very different from the last time he had seen her. She wore a crown atop her head, a simple one, or at least as simple as a gold crown could be. She gasped when she saw him and lifted herself up from her throne, rather ungracefully in her surprise. The men and women of her court wondered what this display was about and turned around. They saw Aaron and were even more confused at their queen's reaction towards him.

Some of them began to murmur horrible things about the queen to each other, but neither Aaron nor Merdi heard them as they locked gazes with each other. Despite himself, Aaron found a bit of a smile wander onto his guilty lips at the sight of her. He did a little polite bow in her direction and Merdi walked towards him.

"Is it really you?" she gasped and Aaron nodded mutely as he did not want the others in the room to hear him. Merdi was nonetheless delighted and wrapped him up in a tight and friendly embrace. A scandalous sight to everyone else in the room, as Aaron looked little more like a beggar and peasant to them. "I was wondering when you would visit next!"

Aaron's gaze crossed across the other people, nobles, in the room. They were whispering amongst each other harshly and regarded Aaron with a condescending and disgusted look, looking at him like he was something revolting they needed to get rid of. This prompted him to feel self-conscious for a moment long and look down at himself. He realised then there was red ash, looking much like blood, splattered at the hems of his robes and his cloak. He hummed in realisation. Perhaps he should have cleaned up before.

"Oh, don't mind them," Merdi smiled at him, "They're gossipers by nature. What have you gotten up to? You look like you've been through a bad day."

"May I speak alone with you?" he whispered, barely above a breath, but the nobles all had fine ears, attuned to hear everything to make a scandal out of it.

"Queen Merdi," one of them called, "Please, won't you introduce us to this... person?" It was clear by their tone that they were just humouring Aaron being in their presence.

"No, I shan't," Merdi said sweetly, her tone disturbing the other nobles. She gestured for Aaron to follow her into the next room. When the guards in the room attempted to follow them as well, Merdi gestured for them to stay, which they did only very reluctantly. They left the nobles to themselves.

Aaron looked around the new room curiously. It was a calm blue, in stark contrast to the golden sandstone the other rooms seemed to be made of. There were a few chairs and a table. Aaron guessed this room was used for small, non-political get-togethers. He sat down on one of the chairs and watched as Merdi sat down across from him.

"Now, Aaron, goodness, what brings you here?" Merdi asked cheerily.

"I have come to ask you... for a bit of a favour..." Aaron began and a painful guilty pang shot through his heart.

"A favour?" Merdi wondered aloud, "Pray tell, what is it?"

"I need to have temples built," Aaron explained, "And a group of people to worship a certain god."

This had Merdi curious and think back to the meeting she had had with the rulers of the neighbouring kingdoms once.

"A god? Wh-which one?" she asked.

"He has been forgotten by this realm, and I have made it my task to make sure he is remembered once more. And this is why I need to have temples built and a group of worshippers gathered," Aaron explained further, "Can and will you help me?"

"I... Of course! Of course, I'll help you! Just... Goodness, this is gonna be difficult..."

"Why's that?" Aaron asked.

"The kingdom is currently facing... a bit of resistance... We'd faced a bit of an economic slump a few months back, and the kingdom hasn't recovered entirely yet and the people have become... restless to say the least. Especially the workers, and those are the ones we need most in this task, wouldn't we?" Merdi looked to the side with a saddened look in her eyes, disappointed in herself for this.

"The workers are... resisting?" Aaron asked for clarification and Merdi nodded.

"Mhm, yes. That's what the, uh... conference you just saw was about... Thing is, the nobles don't care a smidgen about the workers' revolt! They want to send the royal guard on them, but I know for a fact that will only fan the flame. But I cannot seem to convince them of it..." Merdi sighed, "I'm afraid they will attempt something like it behind my back and blame the military."

Aaron frowned. This would put a halt to his project. A major halt to his plans. He hummed in thought and the next few minutes were spent brainstorming ideas together. Aaron felt a bit useless, though, because his ideas were rather simple in comparison to Merdi's and he felt they would not be very useful ideas in any case. But then, as he scratched the back of his head and felt his hood fall back a bit, and he instinctively grabbed it and pulled it over his face, he had an idea.

"I have an idea," he said and stood up from the table, Merdi following and copying his movement.

"What is it?" she asked as she followed him to the door.

"I think I know how I can convince the nobles not to send the military on the workers _and_ how I can get the workers to help me," he said with a grin, though it made him uncomfortable what he planned to do.

"Tell me!" Merdi called, but Aaron already opened the door and strode out to the nobles who were still sitting at the conference table, gossiping about Aaron and Merdi as they were prone to do, with nothing they would deem as better to do. As Aaron strode into the room, he caught the attention of just about everyone within it as he strode to the throne and stood before it. It seemed, to the nobles, to be an action that required them to act outraged, but he ignored the dirty looks they threw at him.

He grabbed the hems of his hood and breathed in deeply. He was deeply uncomfortable with what he planned to do, but he would do it, for Alexander's sake, he owed him as much. He breathed in deeply once more, and then he pushed the hood back from his face to reveal it to the staring and curiously outraged nobles. The moment he threw off his hood, his face was revealed, in all its pristine beauty, to the crowd of nobles. They all gasped upon seeing him, and even those whose attention he had not yet caught entirely, whipped their heads in his direction. Their eyes collectively widened and Aaron watched and waited until he found that each noble looked at him with adoration in their eyes. He turned his head slightly and found Merdi staring at him, the nearly same adoration in her eyes, but not quite. He turned back to the nobles and proclaimed his purpose.

"Nobles of this land," he spoke loudly and clearly, his voice sounding like the sweet song of a singing paradise flower, though the nobles found his voice incomparable, "I heard you wish to have the military fight the workers' revolt." He made sure his tone was disappointed, not disgusted or angry, none of the emotions he actually, actively felt. He saw the faces of the nobles distort into something akin to fear, or even horror, the type of horror you feel at disappointing someone whose opinion you value above even your own. He could see it in their faces, the desire to please him, and he knew he could exploit this easily, as was his plan. "Now, I don't quite think that is the right answer after all. Do you?"

The nobles looked at each other, each seeing the fear of disappointing this man in each other, and they each knew what to say to please him instead. Collectively, they agreed with him that they were wrong and they suggested other, non-violent ways to deal with the workers' revolt. The nobles actually had a civil and concentrated discussion about the topic, glancing over at Aaron every now and again for his approval. He smiled at them every once in a while as they continued. He pulled a chair from the large table and put it next to the throne and sat down on it, while he gestured for Merdi to come to sit with him and watch the nobles. The nobles came to a good conclusion on what to do about the workers' revolt, which involved providing houses near the factories and lowering taxes for the workers.

It was a good start, or that's what Aaron thought. A month or so later (Aaron stayed for the whole day and only returned home for the night, moving the bed of clouds to the 'grave', crying himself to sleep each night and returning to Merdi in the morning), the workers' revolt seemed to die down in certain parts of the kingdom, and these parts were where Aaron decided to get workers from to build temples. He employed Merdi's help to gather the workers, who were rather reluctant at first, until he, once again, showed his face to them. Then they were very enthusiastic to aide him in his endeavour. They would build exactly six temples in the span of eleven months, convincing other workers to help along. Aaron had to convince those who dealt with and traded wood, stone and other such things to help as well, though he did pay as much as he had (which was not quite as much as he once had).

The next step he would have to take was to get worshippers. This part proved to be far more difficult than he had thought, and he feared that if he used his beauty to convince people, their belief would not be real, or not real enough to actually help Aaron's cause.

In light of this revelation, Aaron decided he would study the other beliefs in the kingdom and find out how the faiths are passed down from generation to generation there. Mostly scriptures, he found. He thought those were rather easy to create on his own and he spent two and a half years afterwards to write his own scriptures. He would rather spare anyone who would ever ask him about it the details of it all, as he had spent nights awake and working, sometimes even skipping sleep altogether for more than three days until he actually fell unconscious and had to drag himself to bed for ten minutes and then continue working. In the end, the scriptures were finished, many of the stories that he had found on the walls of the abandoned temples transcribed there. He left out a few things that did not strike him as utterly important, but he wrote a second draft with those stories and rituals included, just in case they were actually important. He finished the final draft after gruelling work, and he presented it to Merdi so that she may introduce it to the people, and she had copies made and sent to the six temples. Then Aaron found out that she had a seventh temple built that was bigger than the first six, the main temple she called it, and she brought the original copy to that place.

One day, Aaron asked Merdi if she had any contact with any other kingdom, and she was very enthusiastic when he mentioned this. A few weeks later, Aaron visited Merdi to check on the progress the faith was having in the kingdom, but sitting with Merdi, he found Sequu, Bennie, Ansue and Yana with her servant Isma, though he did not recognise Sequu or Bennie and he had not learned the names of the other two. He looked at Merdi, silently asking what was going on, and she pulled him to the table excitedly. Aaron smiled fondly at her, her enthusiasm was one of the things he had liked about Merdi the most, back then and now, and he was glad it hadn't changed over the many years.

"Do you recognize them?" Merdi asked and Aaron looked at her slightly confused. "I have been told you visited each of them some thirty years ago and helped them rid their kingdoms of cursed instruments, just like mine."

And suddenly, Aaron saw the similarities in their faces. He recognised Bennie, he recognizes Sequu and he recognised Yana, though he still did not know her name.

"I remember, yes I do... Goodness, I haven't seen any of you in such a long time!" Aaron smiled at them, though the pang of guilt in his heart kept his lips from smiling too brightly. If they would be able to see his face and not be affected by it, they would see the guilty glint in his eyes.

"Aaron!" Bennie exclaimed excitedly and ran to hug Aaron while Ansue just nodded approvingly. Sequu looked at him anxiously, with slight fear in his eyes that Sequu clearly tried to repress. Yana and Isma did not seem like they knew how to react at all. Yana looked at Aaron with surprise, while Isma's look remained professional, yet curious and even slightly fascinated if Aaron read her expression correctly. Aaron put an arm around Bennie and hugged her back. He had missed her excitable nature and he was glad to see her healthy and happy.

"Not that I have anything against this reunion, "Ansue interjected at some point and Bennie let go of Aaron, "But, Merdi, what exactly have you called us here for? I don't suppose you just called us because he was visiting?"

"No, no! Not just that. But I called you here because we need your help," Merdi smiled.

Sequu raised his head and looked at her curiously, it looked like he hadn't slept in quite a while. "Help? What with? I don't suppose you mean the workers' revolt? I haven't heard much of that in a while, you see."

"No, no, we got that covered, Aaron was a great help in that regard! No, the help we need is, well, uh... See, Aaron here serves this god, whose worshippers were all killed, and he has to make sure this god is worshipped again. This is what we need help with," Merdi tried her best to explain, but she felt like she didn't do much of a good job at it, even though Aaron nodded at her approvingly.

"Is it the one who I think it is?" Yana asked, "The god of winds?"

"You've heard of him?" Aaron asked, genuinely surprised.

"I've done research after you left, you see. Twenty-five years of it and I have found a few things. Not as much as I would have liked, but I suppose I have found enough to have a general view of what he is," Yana nodded and Isma, who stood behind her, nodded along with her, confirming her statement.

"Well, then... Would you agree to help spread the faith then amongst your people?" Aaron asked carefully, politely.

"Look at you, being polite!" Bennie grinned, "Boy, of course, we will! Don't have to be so polite about it!"

"Nothing wrong with being polite," Yana interjected.

"I suppose I should help as well," Sequu mumbled, just loud enough to be heard amongst the chatter, "The priests have asked many questions about you, since I became king, and this would not only answer their questions, but it would help to spread the faith much quicker and easier."

"That sounds great, Sequu!" Merdi cheered enthusiastically. Ansue nodded along with them.

"Naturally we will help as well," Yana responded, "I shall suppose you have scriptures with the specific faith you want us to spread?"

"Yes, we do, Aaron brought them to me, and I had copies made for the temples we had already built in my kingdom. Here, I'll give each of you a copy that you can have copied back home and spread it," Merdi said and had her servants bring each of them a copy of the scriptures Aaron had worked so hard on. Ansue flipped through a few pages and hummed with interest.

"I already know that this faith will lure in many people and find many followers in turn," Ansue noted, nodding.

"Yeah, I think so, too!" Bennie grinned as she looked over Ansue's shoulder at the scriptures they had been given.

For the rest of this reunion, they chattered happily amongst each other, though Aaron kept mostly to himself and couldn't really find it in himself to be as happy as the others. he noticed Sequu sitting quietly off to the side and he wondered what was up with him that he wasn't as happy as the others were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope i can return to my weekly schedule now, but i can't promise anything, unfortunately :(  
> i hope you liked the chapter and will come back for more!


	59. Chapter 59

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!! I'm back! I know, I know, 'it LIVES?!?', yeah, I get it! I was one for some time, funnily having said that maybe I could return to my weekly updating schedule instead of every three weeks, like it seems to be the case for this fic now. It's not even because I don't have the time, because I do... it's not even really because I don't have the motivation to continue this, because I have no intention to ever stop this until it's over. It's not even really because I have nothing to write anymore, I have this entire thing planned out! I don't know, It just feels weird at this point to be thinking about it.
> 
> Anyway, I'll stop chewing your ear off about my personal weird struggles with this fic, and continue right on! Enjoy!

Aaron returned that night, home, to where he had planted the seed. The moment he stepped into the area, around which he had built a fence, planning to put a brick wall in its place soon, tears began to sting his eyes. He felt like he was suffocating slowly, underwater, just an inch below the surface, so close, yet he couldn't break the surface tension to come up and breathe, not for the life of him, and he pulled off his hood, revealing his face to this world. He rubbed at his eyes and knelt down before what he liked to call Alexander's grave.

"Morning, Alexander..." he mumbled quietly, feeling the illusion of a presence close to him. He knew it wasn't there, but he fooled himself. "I will bring you back. Whatever it costs."

Out of the seed, over the past few years, had grown a little plant, the beginning of a dandelion. It grew very slowly, very uncharacteristic of such flowers, Aaron knew. He gently stroked the little green petals that began sprouting, with a sad sigh. "Whatever it costs." As he repeated this phrase, like a mantra, a couple of times, tears burned in his eyes.

Tears of longing, of a pain so ingrained within his heart, it felt like part of it, like there had never been a time when that pain hadn't been there, he had grown so accustomed to this pain. It was part of him, but the more he felt it, the more he felt like he was part of it, and not the other way around.

He remembered the day. The day Alexander died. It was years ago, but he felt it more clearly now than he had back then. He recalled what happened, called the memory, clearer now, to the forefront of his mind.

He had only thought about Alexander, nothing else had crossed his mind at all as he had stood there, in front of the Judge, surrounded by gods and goddesses who hated him, who, a moment later, he would force to adore him, and then to fear him. Because such had always been the case for Aaron, first, those who knew his face adored him, then, they learned to fear his presence, because it meant their certain death if they touched him wrong, king's orders.

He had felt Alexander's presence in the phial, and he remembered distinctly the relief that had washed over him in that very moment, that he had not registered immediately what situation Alexander had been in. In that very moment, he remembered, the relief that had washed over him had almost moved him to tears, though he had managed to keep it all bottled up inside. He had breathed in quietly in relief, such strong relief. For years he hadn't felt Alexander's presence where it should be, for years he had looked, searched the earth below for him, desperately trying to find him. He had cried himself to sleep more often than not. But the first year of waiting had been the worst.

The first year of waiting had been horrible.

_Three days after Alexander had left for the Judge's palace Aaron became somewhat worried. Alexander usually wouldn't leave him for that long, at least not without prior notice. He wandered through the palace, yet unfamiliar with all the halls and hallways and doors that appeared and disappeared according to some strange pattern. The halls echoed when he spoke and he felt lonely when he heard his own voice echo back at him, so he elected to remain silent. He was afraid of some of the hallways, they were dark and he knew the stories that Alexander had told him about them. How in the dark corners of the palace, there was something lurking, watching. There was a story about a being living in the dark hallways, watching, waiting, sucking out the life of anything that passed it, sucking out the memories, and what better memories to feed on than those your victims have of yourself? Leave the victims forgetting you, forgetting the fear, forgetting not to pass that spot, so you can feed on them again, and again, never starving._

_So he avoided these hallways, avoided the dark cracks that sometimes appeared out of nowhere, though he was sure they hadn't been there before. As much as he loved the palace of winds, loved the change that was, ironically, very constant, without Alexander, without the mind that made and knew this chaos, he felt lost in it. He felt lost in the chaos of the palace, chaotic in every way but sound. It was quiet, still and silent, but always in movement. He hated it, how quiet it was, how his steps echoed, the echo louder than the step taken, ringing in his ears. And every time he passed by the main doors, those that led outside where there was nothing, he went completely still, staring at the set of red-brown doors with swirling patterns, spirals, birds and leaves._

_He stared at them for hours at a time, unmoving, waiting. Just like that set of doors. Unmoving, waiting. Waiting for the one who holds power over them to return to them, to open them and see inside and love what he sees. To return home. But Alexander never came. He never soothed the chaos. He never soothed Aaron's worries, the pains he carried with him._

_Sometimes, in the quiet of the night, Aaron swore he heard something. Steps, jittering across the floor near the bed of clouds, otherwise empty. He couldn't sleep in that lonely bed anyway. It was cold in that bed, without Alexander with him. Cold and lonely, and though he would lie in that bed, he wouldn't sleep on it, staring at the black door he forced to stay there. Waiting. He was waiting, like always, like every night, like every day. He would lie there, sit there, in the bed he couldn't sleep in, waiting for Alexander to return, return to him, return home. But he wouldn't come home. No matter how long Aaron waited, no matter how long he stared, no matter how long he was alone, Alexander did not return._

_He hoped, he begged, he prayed for Alexander to return, prayed for the first time in years, but he didn't even know to whom he was praying. There was no god that would listen to him. No god that would come to his aide. None except for Alexander, and he was gone. Gone, somewhere where Aaron wasn't. Somewhere too far away from Aaron's lonely heart beating miserably in his chest. Somewhere where Aaron couldn't be, a place he couldn't reach. The wings on his feet still felt like an unnatural part just stitched onto him and he was by far not confident enough to fly with them for more than a few feet._

_Another night, once again an empty bed. On the nights he could, he refused to sleep on the side Alexander preferred to sleep in, just in case that one night, one fateful night, he may return and come to bed, Aaron wanted to let him have his side of the bed for that. He wanted to welcome him warmly, though his side would be cold. He stared at the wall, the empty wall. He had dozed off, passively, and the door had disappeared as was its will. This palace was made of chaos. Lonely chaos. The sort of chaos that's everywhere, in constant movement, unpredictable, yet torturously quiet. And this quiet, the silence, filled only by his own lonely steps, tormented him. He wanted Alexander. But he wouldn't have him anywhere near him for a long time._

_The same jittery steps echoed around the room as Aaron kept staring at the empty wall. It irked him that particular night, a month after Alexander had disappeared, this noise, these steps echoing in the dark corners of the room. He shot up from the bed, having realised very early who these steps belonged to, and he yelled at the corner of the room, from which the darkness protruded in slim tendrils, grasping at the otherwise illuminated room, trying to pull it into the darkness with it._

_"Leave, you mindless creature!" he yelled insultingly, his voice holding such bitter bite that he felt it on the tip of his tongue. "You have no business here!"_

_The creature did not respond. It couldn't. Aaron knew this. He didn't remember this, but he had encountered this very, silent, creature before, though only two times. He felt bitter and did not want to be bothered by the creature in this time. Luckily, after he yelled, the dark tendrils in the corner of the room shot back, disappearing into the dark crack in the corner of the room. Aaron glared at the spot it had disappeared into. Then he sighed._

_"I'm sorry..." he said, though he thought the creature couldn't hear him. He pulled out the journal he had grabbed one day in this first month from the library. He had begun writing in it and kept it under the pillow._

_He began writing: "I was visited by the Silent Creature. I remember because I didn't see its Face. I saw the Darkness and I heard its Steps, but it appears you need to see it to forget. I yelled at it to leave, though would prefer its Company to having none at all... Alexander hasn't returned to me for Weeks, a Month even. Thomas' Company is... Soothing, somewhat. He keeps assuring me that Alexander is just busy with... what he wanted to do. But that's so unlike him... And Thomas keeps looking at me weird... I don't know how to describe it. He likes me, that's for sure, and I always feel so naked under his gaze. I don't like it, the Way he looks at me, the Way he speaks to me when he isn't assuring me. I've seen the Gaze and heard the Tone often enough to know what's going on in the Mind behind it. It's Lust. Just Lust. I trust him not to act on it, but it's still uncomfortable. But I suppose I can't really be picky about who keeps me Company. I just hope that Alexander returns soon. Every day I sit by the Main Doors, waiting for him. I think I know the Patterns on the Doors by Heart now. If not, I hope I will not be given the Time to memorise them completely. Please, come back soon, Alexander. I'm lonely without You here with me. I'm upset, and I know You wouldn't want me to be, but I am. If I am to make good on my Promise I need You to help me get the Details right. I don't know why you thought it a good Idea to leave me here unsupervised. If the Palace burns down it's Your fault! I jest, of course, but I will be cross with You when You return Home. Leaving me here, alone, with only the Creatures, and occasionally Thomas to keep me Company. But the Creatures aren't particularly good Company. Or talkative. I hope you come back Home soon, Alexander. I miss you"_

Aaron noticed a moment later the tears that fell from his eyes onto the dandelion seed below. It had been a horrible year, a truly horrible year, full of worry, missing him and suffering it alone. Though he had Thomas, he had grown distrustful of Thomas the more the year had gone on. Aaron sighed and rubbed at the tears in an attempt to dry them before he succumbed fully to them.

Then, Aaron felt a presence nearby, a familiar presence, one he hadn't felt in years and missed very dearly. He whipped his head around, his eyes meeting Hercules', who looked tired and confused, yet also looked at him with a tender smile that looked so similar to the one he had worn before Alexander had died. Aaron felt a longing, a yearning deep inside himself that he hadn't realised had grown over the past years in Hercules' absence. He stood up, abruptly, letting himself be stuck in that little moment when his gaze bore deeply into Hercules', wherein he found love, and a similar longing and yearning that Aaron had felt, was still feeling. A moment longer, they stood there, gazing at each other, each itching to run into the other's arms. But Aaron felt like something was keeping him back. Hercules felt like there was something thrust between them, keeping them apart.

"Love?" Hercules called, and Aaron breathed out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. Relief? Was this relief he felt? The longing in his chest grew stronger, but his grief was like a dagger thrust between their hearts, sharp and painful if they stepped too close. He felt infinite sorrow that the longing in his heart, turning into a painful twang, was not enough to have his legs move, not enough to force him to run into Hercules' arms. Hercules was the one who stepped closer instead, stepping over that invisible line Aaron felt drawn between them. Aaron's gaze hardened, but the longing he felt was still buried in his eyes, betraying the cold gaze he felt in his grief. Conflicting emotions, longing and grief, fought against each other fiercely, though essentially, they stemmed from the same core.

"M-my heart..." Aaron mumbled quietly in response, both to Hercules and to the painful longing that burned within his heart. Hercules' gaze softened and a tender smile came to his lips.

"Aaron, love... I haven't... I haven't seen you in so long! Oh, my love, how I've missed you!" Hercules exclaimed and threw his arms around Aaron's neck and put his lips to Aaron's forehead. Aaron felt overwhelmed by this sudden affection, though a smile lit up on his face despite it all and he put his own arms around Hercules in a soft embrace. Once Hercules stopped kissing his forehead, Aaron put his head to Hercules' chest, listening to the excited heartbeat drumming away.

"I've missed you as well..." Aaron mumbled and it almost sounded halfhearted, but Hercules knew Aaron, and to Hercules, it sounded more like Aaron was simply tired, which wasn't far away from the truth at all, it was rather close, actually.

"Have you been crying?" Hercules suddenly asked, very concerned.

"Yes... again..." Aaron mumbled.

"Again? Love, again?" Hercules stroked Aaron's cheek tenderly, putting his forehead against Aaron's.

"Alexander is still... I have to bring him back... I need to bring him back, but nothing is working... I'm having temples built..." tears began welling in his eyes again, "I wrote scriptures, months, years worth of them, the worshippers are being gathered as we speak... I know it's too early to expect any great results... but I cannot help it, Hercules!"

"Shhh... I... I've had a lot of time to think, so far away from you for so long..." And it was true, Hercules had been thinking things over a lot, with his old friends there to help him along the way. "And I wish to help you. I always knew I wanted to help you, but I think I had to think more about it to fully realise it. I had to be away from you to realise just how much I craved being with you. Please, don't fall into such a fit of fiery rage again. It was truly terrifying, and I felt, more than once, that I might lose you to its fires."

"I... terrified you?" Aaron asked, surprised and a guilty pang hit his heart.

"I know you wouldn't hurt me. Ever. I wasn't afraid of that. But I feared for everyone else who may stand in your path while you were so consumed. I... I heard you hurt... some people... I heard about Fatum and Tempus and... the Judge, I was there for that but... I heard you hurt them all, and stole from them, and I saw some of the things you stole from them, the loom, and I see the stream of time is flowing through the stone garden... But I see the rage has passed, and I'm glad for that. Your eyes are clearer, not like before... I feel like you were returned to me..."

Hercules' words were soft, soothing and incredibly reassuring. Aaron had forgotten how sweet his words sounded to his ears, like a soft caress. All these years, all this grief, and still Hercules was there for him. A rock for Aaron to hold onto while the storm was beating down on him, waves crashing against him in an attempt to tear him down with them. But Hercules would hold him tight, wouldn't let anything close to him, wouldn't let anything hurt him. A flame was set inside of Aaron's stomach, fluttering like a hummingbird inside and writhing. A strange but lovely feeling, his head was reeling and a small smile came onto his lips. He turned his head upwards to meet Hercules' gaze, lovingly, and he kissed him.

"I missed you," he whispered after he kissed Hercules, who smiled back at him with a dopey grin, love-struck.

"I can't believe I managed to stay away for so long. I missed you so dearly," Hercules whispered back and kissed Aaron's head so tenderly than Aaron felt dizzy from it.

"How could you stay away for so long?" Aaron asked. And it did confuse him. When he had broken away from the rage that had seeped through his body, or rather when the rage had just dissipated one day, and he had returned home to the palace of wind with its chaos inside, he did not find Hercules. It had surprised him, he had been confused, but then he had had so much to do, that he could barely let himself spare a thought to his missing lover, and he felt awful the more he thought about it. But in truth, he had missed him, so much, in the nights when he broke away from the work on the scriptures and he still couldn't fall asleep for some strange reason, he longed for the warm body of Hercules to be by his side, to warm him, to be there for him, his presence alone telling him 'everything will turn out fine in the end, I believe in you'. To make him feel safe. But, by all the good gods that remain, Aaron had missed him.

His question had Hercules pull a face that concerned him to some degree because he couldn't really read it or understand it at all when he saw it. Hercules was frowning at the question, made uncomfortable by it perhaps? But nothing else was clear-cut in that expression.

"My friends, whom I hadn't seen in so long, it's surprising they still consider me a friend, they convinced me to stay with them for as long as you were consumed by that... terrifying rage... I suppose they were, um, concerned about me, thought you might hurt me... I never got around to tell them how silly that notion even is. They would, um, they would cut me off before, saying they know your, uh, type... But they never met anyone like you, and they don't know anything about you and, well, I'm rambling, I think I should maybe stop." There was a hot red blush burning brightly on his cheeks as he stared lovingly into Aaron's eyes. Aaron's cheeks copied that burning blush as he realised he was not wearing the hood over his head, but his hands were preoccupied and he couldn't put it back and, for some odd reason he couldn't grasp, he wanted Hercules to see him in that very moment. It felt important, somehow, that Hercules saw Aaron the way he is.

"No, keep speaking. Your voice soothes me, my heart." Aaron put his head to Hercules' chest, feeling the warm skin on his right cheek, right over where Hercules' heart was beating soundly into his ear, a steady drum, it brought a smile onto Aaron's face despite the tears in his eyes.

Emotions conflicted and constricted inside his chest. Relief and joy at being in Hercules' arms, reunited with his lover, then horrible grief at having lost Alexander, trying everything in his power, of which he now took ahold of more than ever, to bring him back into this life, for now, and for ever.

"I almost thought I had lost you to that rage... I know you're grieving. I know you're... chipped, maybe broken, because of that grief - which I still don't fully understand, but I am willing to support you - but... I don't think that... that the way you're handling things is entirely healthy. That rage was... it was terrifying, and I know that you wouldn't hurt me but... you hurt others and... I knew that you believe in, well, 'eye for an eye', but that clearly had nothing to do with happened there. You hurt the Judge, the only one who really deserved it, but then you went after Fatum, and Tempus and the gods of the seasons and stars and... While Fatum could be held accountable for this, being the weaver of fate, after all, all the others were... innocent, more or less... Look, I don't want to make you feel bad for anything, as out of it as you were, it's just that, well, I don't think that was right to do for you." Hercules grew quieter in the end.

Aaron's smile dropped to nothing. He removed his head from Hercules', from his softly beating heart. He stared at him with an emotion neither he nor Hercules fully understood. But it did not feel particularly well. What was he saying?

"What?" was all his lips brought forth from his behind his teeth.

"You hurt innocent people. I don't think Tempus had anything to do with... this god who you said died and neither did the gods of Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer, or the god of the Stars, for goodness sake! Fatum, yes, she wove your fate; the Judge, of course, he kept that god imprisoned, as you said, but the others? How did they wrong you? How did they deserve the, the, the, the things you did to them? You were in a blind rage, I get it, but that was..." Hercules sighed, clearly upset and frustrated, "That was far beyond your 'eye for an eye' morality!"

"But..." Aaron couldn't find the words to defend himself, this had come so unexpectedly. And it was true, the more he thought about it. He hadn't given those days much thought after the rage had dissipated. He had to admit because they had been such a blur in the first place, he had practically forgotten them. But now, as Hercules mentioned it all, it seemed to rush back to him, everything, every cruelty that he had done.

He let go of Hercules' arms and stepped back, somewhat in horror and grotesque fascination at the cruelties he now remembered having done in his blinded rage. Hercules was right, as much as Aaron hated the truth in that statement and what it explicitly said about him. What had he become? No. He shook his head and turned, his gaze hitting the makeshift grave. Even in his rage, blind as it had been, an utter blur, it should have made sense. Those gods may not have directly done something to wrong him, not actively, perhaps, but Aaron knew, by all the good gods that remain, he knew. He knew how they had hated him, him and Alexander. They wouldn't have raised a fat finger to come to their aide, no. They would have laughed and celebrated whatever hurt either of them. Alexander and Aaron's pain was a pleasure to them, their entertainment to watch in their desperately pathetic existences.

Aaron knelt down by the grave. He took out the tornado staff and waved it gently, so the young stem of the becoming dandelion swayed in the breeze. The gods didn't deserve his pity. They didn't deserve his mercy. Honestly, he was rather more surprised that he hadn't hurt more of them. Hercules saw this development going on inside of Aaron in these few moments, and he realised how destructive this could turn out to be, a repeat of the anger, and he dove to prevent it.

"Aaron, I see what you're thinking, and you're wrong! Just because they did not treat you fairly is not a reason for you to do worse to them!" Hercules exclaimed in the softest tone he could muster. Agitating Aaron was the absolute wrong thing to do in this very moment.

"They don't deserve my pity, Hercules," Aaron's tone was bitter and Hercules flinched at hearing his name said in this tone. "They deserve the pain they wished upon me. They deserve every cruel thought be turned into reality against them!"

"Just because you think they do, doesn't mean it should be this way," Hercules implored. "You're having cruel thoughts yourself, you wouldn't want them to turn them into reality against you, do you?"

"I can take them on. I fought the Judge and I _won_." Aaron's grip on the tornado staff tightened, but his control over the wind was tighter, it did not change from a breeze to anything else.

"Love, that's not my point. You have the power to beat them, yes. But what if you hadn't? Reverse your fortunes in your mind. See yourself, a god, existence threatened by a mortal. You think that mortal below you and you wish that this mortal was shown his place, and perhaps, because you're used to it, your mind jumps to a cruel way of ending him, like so many mortals have been ended due to their hubris, and then you find this mortal has the power to turn those thoughts against you, turned into reality, and can actually hurt you. Wouldn't you rather he didn't?" Hercules' tone was insistent. "If your fortunes were reversed, you would wish he didn't, without a doubt. If you hadn't the powers to defend yourself fairly, you'd think so."

Aaron's glare softened, as did his grip on the staff, but not because of Hercules' words, which had failed to persuade him. Rather, the thought of Alexander made his grip softer. He leaned forward and petted the growing green petals once more. Hercules saw his words were being ignored, so he sighed and sat down next to Aaron.

"Aaron," he began calmly, though he noticed Aaron tensing up at the lack of a pet name, "You've been wronged, severely wronged by many people in your life. The king, those who kept you in that palace, the gods who would rather have seen you dead, and many more. People have wronged you and I understand that you feel more than just apprehension towards them, but there are people that haven't wronged you, but you have wronged them. If those had the power to take revenge, they would do it. But you have to realise that right this moment... no one can stop you." He paused. Aaron looked at him oddly.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"No one has the power to stop you right now. Not even Death. No one can stop you, no one but yourself. And I can't stop you either, I can't stop you from hurting anyone. I'm weak compared to you. Compared to you, I can die. Compared to your power, I am nothing but a speck in an infinite space. I could not stop if I tried. But I hope that I can help you see things you didn't before. I hope that I can be there for you, be there with you, and help you as you forge your path and those of others along the way. You have such an incredible power, you hold it at your fingertips and electrify with it everyone who comes in contact with you... but power is nothing if the wielder knows not what to do with it... and I am hoping that I could be there to help, to advise, perhaps guide you while you're using it..."

"Hercules, I know the power I hold..."

"Do you? Have you any idea what you do to all those who see you?" Hercules asked and Aaron scoffed.

"They fall in love with me, like puppets without a master, offering their strings to me," Aaron sounded bitter when reminded of it.

"Was I not one of them?" Hercules then asked. Aaron's head whipped to him, eyes wide in utter surprise.

"What are you saying?"

"You say that those who fell for you are puppets. I fell for you, hard, all those years ago. Was I not one of them? Was I not a puppet without a master, offering my strings to you?" Hercules' tone was kept neutral, though he was deeply upset, he didn't look at Aaron, but rather his gaze swept to the side.

"Hercules, you are so much more. You never had been one of them!" Aaron assured, stricken and upset that Hercules would think this.

"Wasn't I? With the power you hold- the power you held even then, I felt utterly powerless. I was drawn to you, I fell for you... And I was so happy to spend even a moment's time with you, in your presence. I was blind in love, like all those other fools when they take one look at you. You can make them do whatever you want. They offer their strings to you, and whether you know it or not... you take them, each time. Everything you ask them to do will be because of that power because you moved their strings... Every time I'm away from you, every time I don't see you, I wonder... is it your power, your hands holding my strings...Never mind... My point is, you hold the strings of everyone around you, you are the puppetmaster, whether you know it or not, whether you want it or not... But I implore you to use those strings for something good... Please, Aaron..."

"Hercules..." Aaron gasped.

"Please, Aaron, just promise me... Please, promise me you won't abuse your power again..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hercules is saying something in here that I realise some time ago, like twenty chapters ago, maybe: namely, that Aaron holds a shit ton of power. And we all know what happens to people who have a shit ton of power, realise this, but have never dealt with having a lot of power before. Sure, Aaron had had this influence of people all his live, but he hadn't really thought about it, tbh. I hope you enjoed this, and hope you'll have a merry christmas and a happy new year! I also hope that you'll stay with me and this fic in the next year as well. I'll try my best to write more!


	60. Chapter 60

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so I think I'm getting better again at posting more frequently. And I'm excited! This is chapter number 60. Chapter 50 had been a milestone, and the content of that chapter reflects it, and I don't think I can ever do something like that again, have a milestone chapter wherein the content reflects that. I'd gotten lucky! Alexander has been dead for ten chapters already, this is nice, and we've passed two stages already in this arc! I hope y'all enjoy!

The conversation left a bitter aftertaste in Aaron's mouth. He had asked Hercules to leave him alone soon after, and he returned to staring at the growing dandelion seed. Hercules had left reluctantly, but he had left nonetheless, but not without leaving some sour tasting words behind for Aaron to mull over.

"No one can stop you, Aaron, your power over us is too great. I'm begging you to use it wisely and benevolently."

These words stuck with Aaron. No one can stop you. Your power over us is too great. He picked at the dirt surrounding him. He put the tornado staff aside, not bothering to put it to his back. A sour look glinted in his eyes. If he was so powerful, he felt his thoughts dwelling there for a moment, why should he not use it for his purposes?

He could make them all believe, believe and pray and worship, he had the power to make them do these things, hadn't he? Why hadn't he done it before? No. No, he shook his head. It was getting to his head, Hercules' words were getting to his head. He considered all of Hercules' words, not just those that admitted his power.

I'm begging you to use it wisely and benevolently. These had been Hercules' words before he had left him alone. Use it benevolently. Wisely. It mirrored what Aaron had told himself when his quest to fulfil his promise had started. He had refused to use this power on those he had gathered to be worshippers, for the simple reason of paranoia, too many 'what if's plaguing his mind, and those questions returned to him now. If he were to use this power to force worshippers to pray and believe, would that be real enough? He doubted it, and his resolve strengthened, renewed. He would not fall to that, would not stoop to the level of a dictator.

He breathed in, breathed out, and put his head near his knees, as he had seen so many worshippers do before. He knelt before the grave, in a subservient worshipper's position. He breathed in through his nose, tasting the smell of the powerful soil he was placed on.

This position was unfamiliar to him, though he had been in it often in his younger years. What age was he now? he quietly wondered as his thoughts drifted, though he could not answer it at this point. He had lost count of the number, hadn't cared for it either way. He shook his head, it didn't matter. He knelt there, breathing in for a moment, and he prayed.

For the first time in decades, he prayed.

And for the first time at all, he prayed to Alexander. Hoping, begging that his prayer would be of the same value as of any other worshipper.

 

James was reading the newest letter, a blush burning on his cheeks as he petted Orsino's head. He was absolutely delighted that his carrier had brought him another letter from this man who seemed to smitten with James, and James, in turn, felt himself smitten with the man who had written these letters to him.

It must be a mortal, he reasoned with himself, for he knew no god with the name Alexander.

He wondered quietly, then, who this mortal must be, so smitten with the god of the moon, who seemed to know him so well, though James thought he hadn't interacted much with mortals in the recent past, sans Aaron, of course. James felt a desire flare up inside him the more he read of this most recent letter. The desire to meet this mortal. He was a traitor to the gods, either way, having helped Aaron in the past, so being with a mortal himself would not further harm his reputation, which had already dug out its own grave and laid in it now. His reputation was irreversibly broken now, and he didn't care to try and fix it. Quite the contrary, really, if his desires were anything to go by, he desired to tarnish his reputation and chances to fix it even more in desiring a mortal.

He wanted to meet this mortal, as much was clear to him, as much had been made clear to him in the past two years of receiving letter after letter. The mortal did not cease writing to him and James wondered quietly if the mortal would ever give it up, receiving no reply, really, nothing in return to spark such prolonged interest. James hadn't even moved the moon in any sign to the mortal. Perhaps he ought to. Yes, he decided, he ought to.

He got up from the bed and placed the letter gently upon his round pillow. Orsino looked up at him curiously, a mild protest chirping from its lips at the petting stopping so suddenly. James didn't look at his carrier, he directed his gaze to the eye of his moon, the window that looked upon the soil, the cities and villages, mountains and seas below. He didn't know whether the man who wrote to him would be awake, though he hoped it and he reasoned that if the mortal was so smitten with James, the god of the moon, James may find him yet awake and watching the moon for a sign, any sign, of returned feelings. And tonight, James would let him see it, the sign of returned feelings.

Despite the pain in his left eye burning him, he felt strong enough to ignore it and to tap into his powers, a dark veil covering him entirely so that he may gather his strength. His calling warned him against this, against such a sign directed at a mortal, but his heart, through practice of desiring the forbidden, laughed in the face of his duty and proceeded to guide James, blind to duty's call.

He turned the moon and, using a great part of his power, he changed its light. He changed its light to a dark colour, the colour of blood, the colour of love and passion and desire. A deep crimson red.

All mortals in the realm below who saw this were awed, humbled to see this power displayed, this sign of love returned, and though everyone knew that this was what it was, no one knew who it was meant for. Whose feeble mortal love did the god of the Moon return? They wondered, who saw this display. And one man, though he could not call himself that by age, who wore no name to call his own, stared up at the moon fascinated through the hole of the beehive he slept in and wondered then what this nonsense was about, thinking he would need to ask around the following day.

But James kept the moon like this, for this night, and for many to follow, and he did not reverse the light to its original white glow that could comfort any lost soul. This red, as long as it stayed, was his proclamation, his silent but obvious agreement to the love this person had proclaimed to him in his letters to James.

But this was not enough, James knew. He would have to go and seek out this mortal himself if ever this was supposed to work. If the mortal did not protest the point, James would gladly steal the peaches growing in the goddess of Beauty and goddess of Fertility's garden that made a common mortal a god. He would gladly do so for this man who had James so smitten with his letters, so utterly smitten.

But for such matters to be agreed upon there needed to be a conversation, and for such James would have to find this mortal first. Though, since Orsino refused to lead him to the mortal - and James began to wonder how the mortal first found Orsino for the first letter to be delivered, and he wondered why Orsino would not accept to carry James' letters back to the mortal - he had not a clue where to look, but he decided he would either way.

And thus James' own quest began, promising himself that he would not remove the red from the moon until he had found this mortal who had captured his heart with just those letters.

 

To think, really, to think, that there were two who sought the same person. Aaron, a mortal, who sought Alexander as a god, and James, a god, who sought Alexander as a mortal in his mind. To think that both were looking for the same person, both uncertain whether they would find him. To think they would mirror the other's desperation in their own search, but not even encounter the other on their respective quests. Such a coincidence, and yet, not one at all.

Fatum knew this, as she viewed both Aaron and James' future. Her sight of the present was worsening by the day, soon, she knew, she would be blind, and the prospect frightened her, so she acquired a habit of speaking what she saw when she wasn't overcome by a vision by force of her own fate.

Though their fates, as she had once woven them into her tapestries, which were no more these days and could not be replicated with meaning, were horrid, so she thought, she amused herself by the 'coincidences', the mirroring of actions of two beings who were connected with only one string, yet that string determined everything. If that string were cut, she knew it well, all would fall apart. Neither of them was aware that they were connected in such a way, if they only waited a moment and reflected, they would feel it distinctly, but she knew this would not happen, as neither of them had half a mind to reflect, and fate did not let them. She, Fatum, Fate, would gladly let them see the tragedy they both played part in, but fate would not and she rather disdained the force for it in such a case. Those within a tragedy, she thought, should know above all others that they are playing in one. But, alas, she could not send them word of such, she could not let them know, or else she would be working against that which was her duty.

She tried to pull herself away from these visions, to pull herself back into the present that she was so fond of. It was difficult, and everything around her was blurry, but she managed. She sat in the hut that once stood by the river of time, having tea with her spouse Tempus, two heads of which were rather agitated at being forced away from their duty, though the left head cared little for it, knowing how meaningless this task actually was.

Fatum and Tempus, she knew nihilistically, were creations of pure belief, prayer and worship. Pure and utter faith. That was what they were made of, and it was weak, which was exactly why her and Tempus' duties were essentially meaningless tasks that could have been done by anyone. She and Tempus were so dependent on their worshippers, even more so than any other god that came after them, who were made not only of faith but of the essence of six of the first eight. And now that another of them was dead, one might reason, his essence was added to the mix and would help create more gods down the line.

But she knew better, as she had seen it. Naturally, she would not tell a soul, except Tempus' left head, who understood the truth as much as she did and more than the other heads. She did not love the left head more than the others, though, be not mistaken, friend. She loved them all equally, as was her duty and her want. It was rare that her duty and her want formed an agreement, and she had fallen in love with Tempus long before she had chanced to see if it was her duty, but she had been so glad when she had found she could love Tempus and align with her duty in the same breath. It would have broken her to be forbidden this love. Her fate would have broken her had it decided she would not be allowed to happily love this wonderful goddeq, and she thanked it for this one mercy.

But that was the one and only mercy her fate had granted her, as it had only misery planned to serve her. Fatum wondered, defiantly, what Alexander's essence would have created, what sort of gods. Would they have been gods of storms? Gods of thunder? Gods of lies and tricks? Perhaps a god of jokes, as Alexander is so fond of them in his lifetime.

"Love, what do you ponder?" Tempus asked as one, a rare occasion where all three heads shared the same thoughts they wished to convey in the same manner at the same time.

"Fate," Fatum replied.

"You, of all, should least need to ponder such," the right head remarked. Oh, the right head knew so little.

"She needs to ponder it most of all," the left head noted knowingly, but was ignored by the right head, there would be bickering soon, Fatum knew, not because she saw into their fate, but because she knew her spouse.

"As it is my duty, I, naturally, do not understand it," Fatum mentioned, confusing two of the three heads.

"What do you possibly mean? We all understand our duties?" the middle head was most confused on the matter, yet Fatum shook her head.

"If you do, it amazes me, for I know my duty, but I do not understand it. I know my duty is to view the fate of all and record them. The why of the matter has been forfeited me. Why I have to do it, why I have to obey all fates, destinies, it is far beyond me. If time is not beyond you, you have my respect in the matter," Fatum answered the middle head's questions diligently, patiently. There was nothing else to be said on the matter, she was sure, and there wasn't. She knew that Tempus did not actually understand time or their duty, at least not the why. The stream of time, the sands of time, did not really need to be protected. It was as safe with Tempus as it was without them. Nothing could temper with it, nothing. Fatum was surprised, almost, that these two forces, intertwined and connected, had not been the first gods, as they were so powerful, each. Then she thought, perhaps there had been two first gods ruling time and fate, but have both died to create all else. She liked to think this was most likely, or at least a nice story. She ought to write it down some time, though she knew she wouldn't, it felt nice to at least make plans that would defy fate, her duty.

While she had always been an individual bound by her duty, respecting it and such, she was also rather defiant for that matter, though it hardly ever showed and thus no one could be blamed for believing otherwise.

She sighed as she noticed how her spouse had fallen into an argument with themselves and she decided it may be time for her to put on a kettle for new tea.

 

While Fatum made tea and James descended upon the mortal realm's soil to go looking for the mortal he thought wrote him those letters, and Hercules waited for Aaron to come inside and come to bed, Aaron abandoned his praying position before the grave and dove down into the realm below.

Aaron made his way to Sequu's castle in haste, hurrying as though he was afraid of losing time, though he had an abundance of it, truly. But since Aaron had seen Sequu so fragile and afraid in Aaron's presence, Aaron felt he grew a mind to be worried about this. Certainly, it wasn't a daily occasion that he felt such for any other matter than Alexander.

He landed upon the balcony from which he had left some thirty years ago. He noticed there was something in the sky that had followed him, but, he saw the red moon and grew confused, he couldn't see anything, even though he was sure he had heard something swoosh by behind him, and he certainly had felt it, as still as the air had been around him, which was a painful thing to think about.

See, since Alexander's death, and many have forgotten to mention this, it was a right rarity to feel any movement in the air. There was hardly ever a breeze, no less proper wind. Storms, however, had begun spreading awful damage across the realm, yet still without wind. Only thunder and lightning had been these storms or a blizzard, but no wind, ever. The thought chilled Aaron to the bone, and it was yet another reminder, another sign, of Alexander's early departure. No matter, Aaron shook his head, it would be not for much longer. He decided this decisively and strode into the throne room with confident steps.

There were a few guards standing there, five or six, it was rather dark despite the lit torches burning on the walls, and each of them was guarding an exit to the room, except for the balcony, because no one expected anyone to come flying inside as Aaron did.

The moment Aaron stepped into the room, the guards within the room became alarmed, lifted their spears and approached Aaron. These were different guards than Aaron had thrown back years ago, and each was female, something he hadn't seen so often but was glad he saw more of in the recent two years. The youngest and the boldest guard came up to him.

"Who are you!" she demanded and Aaron hummed.

"My name is not of importance. But I would suppose that Sequu knows me just if you described what my face looks like to him," he said cryptically, but the youngest guard gasped, then.

"The Traveller," she gasped as if she had recognized Aaron.

"Pardon?" Aaron had heard this title before. Traveller. Hadn't the goddess of Fate called him that? And the goddeq of Time? It was odd to hear this from a mortal. He paused in his thoughts. Had he called this woman a mortal like he wasn't one? How unlike him. A simple mistake then, he assured himself, just don't let it happen again.

"Myrea, bring the King here, at once," the young guard (or perhaps she was a knight?) commanded another, who looked at her confused, forcing the young guard to repeat herself, "At. Once."

And the guard she had spoken to left. The young guard put her spear back at her side, tip up, where it belonged when she was not fighting or defending from an intruder, which Aaron still was, and he was rather surprised at how welcomingly she now smiled at him, perhaps he was even a tad unnerved, as he wasn't so used to it.

"Traveller. I never thought I'd see you. I've heard the rumours, the stories, never thought they were untrue, but never had much proof for them either. Except, my oldest sister claims she met you much a while back when you first came here. Think she said she was taking my second oldest sister to safety, or some-such. I 'spose we're all grateful for what you'd done way back in the day, killing that awful queen. Of course, I only heard about that in history. But they never quite said it had been you who killed her." She seemed cheery as she recounted this, and Aaron found a smile on his lips.

"Well then," he chuckled, "It is true. I killed the old war queen. I'd say I did it with my own hands, but there was a staff involved, and little skin-to-skin contact," Aaron said, feeling something like pride in his chest at this, though he knew he should feel horrible. Or should he? Had he felt horrible when or after he had done it? Had he had any ill thoughts towards himself afterwards? Yes, when the spirits in the Winding Woods had planted the seed of insecurity in his mind, he remembered, somewhat at least. He had to admit, by now, the memory was but a blurred vision, dream-like, nightmarish but fading. He remembered, at that moment, Nae's promise. Not a promise, he remembered faintly, a favour he hadn't wanted fit better. What was it? Three centuries of life added to his?

He realised it would be some time until he would die, longer still as he realised he would not age in the realm of gods, where he lived now. And he wondered just for how long he will live. And he wondered how much he will have forgotten of his past at that point. Even the king, the very first king he had ever had to deal with, the king of his home, was now a faint, terrible, but a faint memory, blurry, hazy, a long-gone event. To some degree it was still clear and plain as daylight to him, he could feel the revolting touches all over his body if he concentrated on the memory, but he also noticed how even this had become much fainter in comparison to the actual incident.

The young guard, he ought to ask her name, smiled brightly at him, "Yeah, I see! You freed our kingdom, and we owe you all the peace the new King you chose for us has brought us."

"How is he, anyway? Last time I saw him... he seemed unwell," Aaron was careful how he worded it.

"The incident remains fresh in his mind, Sire," the young guard spoke solemnly as she was reminded of her King's wellbeing. She just called him Sire. Aaron thought it felt odd, but he didn't comment on it.

"Even after thirty years?" He wondered out loud. Then again, Merdi's mother had been plagued by nightmares for the rest of her life.

"Yes, Sire, even nearly forty years later. I was his personal servant when I came here, he woke with nightmares every night," she said this quietly, in confidence, so the others guards in the room didn't hear. With a wave of her hand, she sent them out of the room to another post.

"And now?" Aaron asked, this news had taken him by surprise, though he really should have guessed it.

"Still miserable as ever and... while he is grateful for what you have done, you should know that... he fears you. That's what I think. I think the reason why he's ruling so expressly benevolently is because... he fears that if he doesn't, if he misuses his power even in the slightest, that you would come back and... do with him as you had done with the war queen," she explained.

"That is... why..." Aaron was perplexed to hear this, but it made sense, too much of it, in fact.

A set of doors opened, and Sequu rushed inside, leaving the other guards to remain outside. The young guard that had been conversing with Aaron bowed at Sequu and knelt, her head down and her hand gripping her spear tightly.

Sequu stared at Aaron, and there was fear in his eyes and he looked utterly miserable like he hadn't slept in days.

"What has brought you here?" Sequu dared to speak up and Aaron smiled kindly at him, though the hood on his head would prevent Sequu from seeing it.

"You look miserable," Aaron was blunt. Sequu flinched at the comment and nodded.

"Ruling a kingdom, as much of an honour as it is... has proven a great and stressful task. There are days on which I fear I am not doing the best. There are days on which I think I wasn't the best choice..." Sequu said and, while it was honest what he said, he left out his greatest worry, which Aaron now knew.

"Because you fear me," Aaron said knowingly and Sequu's head shot up in surprise, his eyes wide.

"Wh-what?" Was all he could muster to speak.

"You fear that I will decide you are no longer fit for the throne and that I will... do with you as I had done with the war queen."

"I..." Sequu was quiet, before he nodded, ashamed, "Yes."

"You needn't fear, then. Sequu, I killed the war queen for a few reasons. She abused a great power that wasn't her own and forced her subjects to do her bidding. And she was cruel to those within her own kingdom, amongst her own subjects who turned their backs on her, abused them and tortured them and killed them. Her ambition laid not with what was best for her kingdom and her people, she only wanted power, and when she had it, she wouldn't stop at anything to get more. She did not desire her people to be happy and did not care when they were unhappy and told her as much. I always thought the duty of any ruler to bring happiness to the people they rule, selflessly. I killed her because she had wronged an entire kingdom, because a thousand souls at once were crying out in misery, within and without the kingdom's borders, like the men she had forced to war. " Aaron's explanation was lengthy but well-worded, yet Sequu remained anxious in his presence, so he felt compelled to add something. "All of which the complete opposite of yourself, Sequu."

"It is true, Your Majesty," the young guard spoke up, "All your subjects hold you in the highest regard. While it isn't quite a golden age, you have brought us tranquil peace, with the promise of many more years of it to come. And we trust you, Your Majesty, with our lives."

Aaron was surprised at the utter devotion he felt from the young guard as she spoke, and it glistened in her eyes just the same, utter and complete and unconditional devotion.

"You worked hard to restore this peace, Sequu, and your subjects love you for it. Stop and see the devotion they have for you, and let it calm you at night. You've done great things for this kingdom, and I am sure you will continue to do so for many years to come. I hope I can soothe your anxiety with my words, I would not kill you, you have done too great things for it to be justified."

"I... Thank you, so much, I..." Sequu was near speechless, he felt honoured, but there was still fear in his being, and he knew, as well as Aaron, that it would take some time yet for him to be rid of it, but Aaron's words, how sure he'd sounded, assuring him, it helped a great deal to soothe him for now in his presence.

Because Aaron unnerved him, he always had, even the very first time they had met. The way he moved, acted, held himself. It had all changed, Sequu had noticed this, but it only served to unnerve him even more. Because back then Aaron had held himself like an equal to Sequu, to everyone around him, but today, Aaron held himself like a powerful being that didn't know it was powerful and thought it was weak. But Sequu could see it, he could tell that Aaron had grown outrageously powerful. And though he feared Aaron still, he felt this power spark something inside of Sequu to serve him, to show him devotion. Was it even the power he felt from Aaron? Was it something else perhaps? Something else entirely? He didn't know, couldn't, honestly. But he felt it, despite the fear, he wanted to serve Aaron.

"Thank you," Sequu repeated, head bowed, surprising Aaron, but not the young guard. A moment later, a pause, Sequu looked up at Aaron, who had nothing else to say, and he smiled, "Would you like to stay the night? What remains of it, I mean."

And Aaron smiled in return, "Yes," he said with a nod.

Sequu turned to the young guard, who also smiled at him, and he said, in a kind tone, not one that was demanding like would be expected from a ruler, "Please, Merlin, would you attend to him and show him to a room? Any comfort he wants should be brought to him."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Merlin, as was the name of the young guard - and Aaron wondered wasn't that a male's name? Perhaps it wasn't - and she got up from her knee to stand beside Aaron, smiling brightly at him, ready to devote herself to him as she did to her King. Aaron admired her for her devotion, blind and unconditional, and he admired Sequu for inspiring this in his subjects. "If you would follow me."

And Merlin guided him through the corridors to a room he had not seen before, which wasn't a surprise, he hadn't spent much time in this palace at all. But the stone walls, when he entered the room, did look different from the rest of the palace. Perhaps this room had been a new addition? Merlin recited for him what was no doubt all the luxuries she could list that they had the material to offer him should he want it. He interrupted her while she was reciting, stating that he didn't need anything and didn't want anything but a basin of water, the only thing lacking in the room. Merlin nodded and left to fetch what he asked for. When she returned he told her he would retire for the night and she was free to leave and to ask the guards he knew stood in front of his room to leave as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like Sequu, I like his name and what I made him be, characterwise. Good guy, I think :D


	61. Chapter 61

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope all of you had a great time and have started into this new year well!

The palace was buzzing with life and work as Aaron awoke from his restless slumber, the light of the sun shining in his face, and he silently cursed it. He hadn't slept well that night. No bed had him sleep well except the bed in the palace of winds, made from clouds and woolmilkpig wool. In comparison, he considered, every bed would feel like it is made of stone. He got up from the bed and stretched, his limbs aching from the comparatively hard bed. Aaron thought he might need to consider getting himself used to such beds, if he wanted his plans to go swimmingly. But that was not the only reason for his foul mood.

He had had a nightmare. He had been contemplating Alexander's death before he had fallen asleep, and his nightmare was just about that.

_Aaron fought the Judge, like many dreams before, and he fought for Alexander's freedom, because what else had Alexander left? And what happens to a creature that embodies freedom, but who is imprisoned? Aaron fought the Judge, fiercely, with all his might, and every time, he beat him, and he grasped for the vial around the Judge's neck, caught it and ripped it off, opening it swiftly._

_The moment he opened it, nothing came out, not even the dandelion seed, and he knew something was wrong. He felt the tiniest bit of a breeze falling onto his hand, and he gasped. Alexander! Aaron gasped and held the breeze close to himself. But then he breathed in, and the breeze in his hands was gone. He panicked. Alexander was gone. NO! Alexander was gone!_

_There was something whispering in the back of his mind. It had always been there, the past years, but it became louder with every night._

_You did this._

_This is you fault._

_If only you had been quicker._

_If only you hadn't been so stupid._

_You killed him._

_NO! He cried desperately, something clawing at his chest. But he didn't believe his own cry, he believed the whispers in his head._

_If only you had been there sooner._

_If only you hadn't been such a COWARD._

And he had awoken and had shaken the nightmare from his senses. He hadn't had a nightmare like this in some time, not one so severe. He was still shaking when he woke and he felt something wet running down his cheeks. Tears, of course. He sighed and shook his head, he needed it clear for his plans.

For he had decided on a plan, you see. Sequu had already, in the short time he had returned home, made sure the scriptures were copied, printed actually, as Aaron would later find out with fascination, and had distributed them amongst the scholars and priests readily available in the palace. Aaron had barely realised the amount of time that had passed in the realm of the gods. Had it gone by faster? he wondered but quickly dismissed the notion. Several weeks had passed, apparently, between the last time Aaron had visited this realm and now. He ought to keep track of the time he spends in each realm, or he might fall into confusion once more, and more severe the next time it happens.

He let his gaze wander through the room, and he found tray on the nightstand beside the bed that had a bowl with fruit and a plate with bread and cheese on it. Aaron appreciated the simple breakfast, grabbed a small bread and two slices of cheese, eating hurriedly, then made his way out of the room, only to bump into Merlin, who was not wearing her armor or carrying her spear, but instead something far more simple, with the crest of the king on her chest over her heart.

"Oh! Sorry, Sire. I was just about to check up on you! I see you're awake, and ate, by the smell of it," she smiled and her last comment made Aaron somewhat embarrassed, or at least self-conscious of his breath. He shouldn't have eaten cheese. "The King actually requested I bring you to him. To me, it sounds like he wishes to discuss something with you."

"Any idea what it may be?" Aaron asked to make pleasant conversation as Merlin began walking and he followed, walking beside her.

"Well, he also asked me to get the priests and scholars before going to get you, so I'll assume you all will have some scholarly discussion of a more spiritual nature. Of course, it will be horribly boring, seeing as everyone else in the room will act utterly awed by the King's presence, as they always do, but the King can't sack them, they're actually good at what they're doing," Merlin rambled on and Aaron eventually interrupted her with a chuckle.

"I see you're used to carrying a conversation on your own?" he asked, amused if anything. Merlin blushed and brushed a stray hair back. Aaron looked at her more closely now. Her hair was open, and long, he noticed, reaching down to her thighs in black waves that puffed at the bottom whereas the rest of her hair laid straight against her back. And now he noticed that her eyes looked smaller than a lot of those he had seen before, though he knew he had seen some with eyes just like that in the brothel Ansue and Bennie had worked in. Millian? Kreotitian? He didn't know which one she would have ancestors from. He did not know the language, and he knew it was a difficult language to learn, though he had confidence that if he ever wanted to, he could, seeing as Qjuanjoith was without a doubt the most difficult language there could be, spoken by people.

"Well, suppose I am used to entertaining nobles. Know anything about it?" Her smile was teasing and Aaron actually contemplated her question, thinking back to his days imprisoned in the palace.

"I suppose I do, though I always thought I'd be the only one to find it such a drag," Aaron answered carefully, and Merlin looked at him with surprise.

"You? Entertain nobles? Goodness, what?" Merlin asked and Aaron decided enough time has passed for it to be no longer too painful to recount as a story.

"Some king had imprisoned me in a spell-ridden palace, for a particular... effect I have, and I was forced into making pleasant conversation with the nobles rich enough to visit me. Of course, I hardly made a proper effort, though sometimes I was... persuaded," he spoke the word with a special tone, conveying all its implications to Merlin, whose eyes widened at him.

"You don't mean..."

"No one was allowed to harm me, of course, those who got used to my effect, however... I was alone, you see, despite the servants waiting on me day and night, and when I acted up particularly, they decided they would keep me lonely, away even from them." Aaron's tone was harsh as he remembered, noting this was the first time, at least the first time he remembered, that he told somebody about this who wasn't Alexander. He was honestly not even sure whether Hercules knew. "Afterwards they regretted it until they got used to me again, and it happened all over again. People are jealous of what they cannot touch."

"That's horrible. How did you escape?" Merlin asked, and Aaron noticed how careful she kept her voice, never letting it drift into a tone that conveyed pity, and he was grateful for it.

"Have you read the scriptures?" he asked instead.

"I have," Merlin nodded. "The King gave me a personal copy." She did not seem to see any implication behind this, and perhaps Aaron was odd for thinking there might be one.

"It was the god of winds," he said, "And I owe him everything."

Merlin seemed to be struck by awe. "I can barely fathom it. And you became his servant then? So you... you were mortal?" she gasped.

"Servant does not do justice to what he and I were." Aaron shook his head with a sad smile at the memories that rushed to him at that moment. He still knew what Alexander's soft touches felt like, his hugs and embraces, the way his hair would fly in Aaron's face.

"Lovers, then?" Merlin asked and Aaron laughed, though not at her, at the very idea.

"No, it was far from romantic, but it was far grander as well. He..."

"'Was'?" Merlin spoke up.

"Hm?" Aaron looked at her confused.

"You said 'was'. Did something happen between you?" Merlin asked carefully.

"Well..." Aaron considered his next words very carefully and he looked away from Merlin, at the tapestries they passed. "I fear that he has been forgotten by this realm, forgotten entirely, and... I am trusting you with something I rather keep secret, I should need your word that you will not spread mine."

"Of course not. It is a secret and trust from _you_ , Traveller. Any secret you keep must be shattering if revealed." After she spoke she halted and turned to Aaron, who and also halted in the hallway. She looked left and right, making sure there was no one near them, not even any rooms anyone could hide in nearby to listen to them. Then she went onto one knee, one hand on her chest above her heart, the other on the ground, and her head kept down, just like the night before with which she had shown her devotion to the king. "I, Merlin Penrys, head of the royal guard and fifth advisor to King Sequu, daughter of Lord Pyther and Lady Ermla, raised by Lady Ermla and Lady Hythe, my mothers in every other way, hereby swear by my breath, my life and the spirit that drives my body, to keep the secret you wish to entrust me with locked up with seven silver seals behind my lips, sealed there for me never to speak of it again to another, to never share it or spread it, but only to keep it and keep it safe within me. And should this oath of silence ever be broken, to show my shame and display the disgrace I'll have become, I shall sew shut my lips and never speak again."

Aaron was almost startled at her words, no less the whole formality. He wasn't sure whether or not he should be disturbed by her words regardless and he elected not to be and merely accept it like he would have any simple oath. Though, somehow, this felt a lot more binding than anything he had ever seen or heard of before.

"I accept your oath," he stated simply and placed a hand onto Merlin's right shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled, then stood up.

"You have my word," she repeated, more succinctly, and Aaron had a chuckle at this.

"Indeed. The god of wind, his name is Alexander, and he has been forgotten by all from this realm. All but me, that is. I have discovered some time ago that a forgotten god is equal to a dead god, and he is forgotten," Aaron began.

"Has he been forgotten recently? I certainly haven't heard of him before," Merlin tried, but Aaron shook his head.

"No. It was centuries ago, but he had not disappeared, because he is the third of the eight first gods."

"That's a lot of numbers," Merlin couldn't help her humour and Aaron chuckled.

"He saved me that day. He and I once promised each other. He would free me of my prison, and I would make sure he lives once more, as a proper god, remembered and worshipped. He has fulfilled his part of the promise a long time ago... and it is now my turn to keep mine." Aaron's words lay heavy on his tongue as he spoke, regret lacing his voice and something whispered in the back of his head that he deserved to feel guilty. If only he had realised sooner what was going on, if only he hadn't been so naive, if only, if only, if, if, if. If only he hadn't been so stupid, if only he had acted quicker, if only he hadn't stalled at the trial, if only he had kept his promise early, if only he hadn't been such a coward.

Merlin was in awe at his words, and Aaron felt pride that he inspired this awe in her. "You are truly noble in this pursuit, Traveller."

Though her words were spoken in kindness, Aaron felt a shudder down his spine of the most unpleasant nature, a ripple through his being, even, perhaps even through time, and he found himself saying, "I'm overcome by the notion that I will disagree some time from now."

"A premonition? Exciting. Is that all of the secret?" Merlin noted and Aaron nodded at her question. "That is well, we should head for the council room speedily, though it is a shame I may not attend." They both began walking once more, neither so keen on being more unreasonably late than they already undoubtedly were.

"This is no proper council we'll have, is it?" Aaron asked and Merlin shook her head.

"No, only the room wears the name, today is no council, I should know, or the king would not have gathered the priests and priestesses, none who are bound to the cults. You can't trust the judgement of the heads of religion, it appears." A sigh escaped Merlin's lips.

"How come?" Aaron asked curiously. Merlin laughed, she felt like she had a gossiping servant with her rather than the powerful being that actually walked beside her.

"Corrupt people, and they tended to be the religious heads. It's frightening, especially in the cases of corrupt priests of an otherwise peaceful god," and she added in a whisper, "A lot of corruption with those worshipping the Judge."

Aaron snorted, an actual snort at the very thought. How fitting, the irony, was it irony? Yes, it was. The Judge had corrupt followers, oh, how delicious that thought tasted on Aaron's petty tongue.

"Serves him right," he found himself saying, yet there was another shudder running down his spine. It ran deeper, he realised, deeper than just his spine. It was within him... very deep within him, at his very core even, yet he couldn't decipher it, but he couldn't shake it either, this feeling of something wrong, though not something approaching, he knew what that felt like. No, it felt like disappointment in his stomach, at his core... in his soul? He shook his head, it didn't matter.

"Serves his followers right that they were no longer permitted at the council meetings. Of course, their issues were still taken seriously, unless we had good reason to think they were lying or being bribed. I tell you, the Judge's cult is the most corrupt I have ever encountered." Merlin's annoyance was clear.

"Have encountered a lot, have you?" Aaron asked bemused and Merlin laughed one hard laugh.

"HA! Yes, I have! My father, by blood and not by choice, he was a priest, believe it or not, and he was just as corrupt as any other follower of the Judge. I'm glad my mother decided to run away with her maidservant to begin a new life together without his influence upon me. Would have been dreadful, believe me, Sire, believe me." And then she halted at a particular door, a grin on her face. "Ah. We've arrived. I'll announce you."

She opened the door and announced to those inside that Aaron has arrived now and Sequu asked him to enter, which Aaron did. Sequu smiled kindly at him, though there were still bags under his eyes and could only hope that Sequu had at least a few peaceful moments of slumber. Sequu sat at the head of a table and beckoned Aaron to sit at the free seat to his left, which Aaron took, ignoring the murmurs and whispers of the men and women who were also seated at this table.

"Sire, please, I think we are all rather puzzled why you would ask us to come here. And, may I ask, who is this?" A man pointed at Aaron. He looked bewildered, but Aaron merely raised a brow at being pointed at, it made him uncomfortable. "He is a... I would say foreign face, but it seems blurred... I can't make it out."

"In due time all shall be explained. But you," he turned to Aaron, "May your name be uttered in this hall?"

"My name is not of importance. I am a friend, nothing more," Aaron replied. Sequu looked nervous, but he nodded.

"Are you..." one of the priests, one of the youngest in the room, in fact, barely looking twenty, was shy to speak up, "Are you the Traveller?"

"I've been called such by only a few, so I shall assume the title was meant for me," Aaron answered.

The priest gasped, though everyone else in the room did not understand.

"What do you mean?" A scholar asked the priestess.

"My goddess spoke to me, and she told me of this man, who cloaks himself and hides his face, who has travelled far and will travel farther," the priest spoke, some confidence entering his voice.

"Who is the goddess you follow?" Aaron asked with an attempt at masking his disdain.

"The goddess of Beauty, Traveller. She has spoken much to me about you, though, recently, she seems to have changed, I cannot tell how or why. It isn't my place to question her, of course," the young priest smiled gently, and Aaron thought the young man had a sort of charm to him.

A scholar scoffed, "You lot and your gods, blind to the truth in front of you."

"Now, now," Aaron intercepted, "I'm sure this is not the discussion that was supposed to be held here today. Is it?" He turned his head to Sequu, giving him a cue to speak.

"Yes, friend, you are correct," Sequu spoke, rose from his seat and addressed those gathered around the table. "Many of you have not lived to see the reign of the war queen," he paused to make sure everyone in the room understood this truth, "But those of you who have, you should remember him," he motioned to Aaron, "For he is the one who killed the war queen and gifted me her crown and kingdom. Those of you who know have asked me about him countless times, and I could not answer then. Today, I cannot answer either, it is not my place to. Rather, it is his place to answer." The room was quiet in confusion, except for Aaron and Sequu, as Aaron admired the tone with which Sequu spoke, calm yet firm. Aaron smiled at Sequu, he did not regret making this boy, now man, king.

"Sire, what can he answer that you couldn't?" a scholar asked.

"I have spread copies of the scriptures and had them be brought to you, my scholars and priests and priestesses, for you to read and study. The god who these scriptures describe is the god of winds. And he," he motioned for Aaron to stand, "Is-"

"I am often called his servant," Aaron spoke, and the implications of this had the priests and priestesses in the room gasp. "And for that reason, it is my duty to keep him remembered and worshipped in these modern times."

"Another priest?" a scholar scoffed.

"Hardly," answered Aaron, "I am no priest, I am no head of religion, and it would be very ironic for that matter. No, it is my duty to ensure he is worshipped, nothing more."

"I've read the scriptures, and they're inspiring, I must say," a priestess spoke, sitting very close to a female scholar. She pulled out the copy of the scriptures she had been given. "This god... I do believe him to be powerful, more so even than my own god, which is a terrifying thought, but suppose..."

"And you wish to bring a new cult to this kingdom?" a scholar asked, somewhat sceptical.

"I wish to spread the faith, that is true," Aaron spoke.

"Which is why I have called all of you here," Sequu continued, "Having seen the power he was granted by this god, I fully believe and am ready to introduce this faith to my people, so it may connect them with all that it stands for."

"And that is, Sire?" a scholar asked.

"Haven't you read the scriptures?" Aaron asked him in return. The scholar blushed in embarrassment.

"Of course, I have! But there are many different ways one may interpret these texts, I found." It was obviously a half-baked excuse, and Aaron didn't appreciate it.

"Then I suggest you open the scriptures to the first page, where it is written, and I quote: 'Do remember, each of you who have faith, to follow the morals of this god: Loyalty, Perseverance, Cleverness, Joy, Celebration of Oneself, Kindness and Truth. Do not stray to Betrayal, Cowardice, Ignorance, Sorrow, Self-Hatred, Cruelty and Deceit. Be as steadfast as him and take pride in your creations and crafts.'" Aaron spoke and the scholar looked pale. Another scholar opened her copy of the scriptures and glared at the other scholar with a nod.

"That is what it says, Percil," she growled at him, "Have you really not read them?"

"I fear the first page may have gone missing from my copy," the scholar tried, but the others, sans Sequu and Aaron, in the room glared at him.

"Then I suggest you start reading soon," Aaron spoke, annoyed more than anything.

"If we spread this faith throughout this land, we shall be blessed, and we shall connect to the bordering three kingdoms with it," Sequu spoke next, sitting down and Aaron followed that sitting down as well, "I am sure that with one faith connecting us all, we shall flourish together."

Aaron saw Sequu's words for what they were. He was trying to convince those present, sans Aaron, who knew the intention, to accept this new faith as something politically beneficial. And it was, there was no denying there. Aaron knew that if the faith spread across the four kingdoms, it would unite them, in a sense, and trade would be easy, and they would defend each other. And if they held the morals described in the scriptures high, they would flourish.

Aaron was proud of Sequu for his choice of words and how he wielded them in front of his people. Sequu really had grown into a good leader, as Merdi had. Someday, Aaron may visit Ansue and Bennie and see how the lead, but he had confidence that they were kind as well and good.

"Your Majesty." Ah, there it was, Aaron thought as a priest spoke up. "Surely you're not implying we all leave our own faiths and cults in pursuit of this one?"

"No, but I expect you to help it to flourish, so we may flourish with it." Sequu spoke these words firmly, a tone that asked people to raise their voice to with reasonable thoughts in response, and allowed no nonsense. "I commissioned temples to be built, throughout our kingdom, and copies of the scriptures are being made as we speak. I ask of you only that you won't stand in the way of this new faith, and that you may aide it, and those who will grow to follow it."

"Your Majesty, if I may..." A priest spoke up, and Aaron found a brooch tying this man's cloak together that had a familiar symbol. He recognized it as the Judge's crest. "You say you know this man," and he pointed at Aaron, "But we know neither his name nor who he really is, even his face is not visible to us. How, Your Majesty, can we know he speaks the truth?"

"You are the Judge's follower, are you not?" Aaron asked instead of letting Sequu answer.

"Y-yes," the man looked taken aback, then quickly collected himself, "You've noticed my crest, I'm sure. I wear it proudly."

"Does he speak to you?" Aaron asked then and the priest froze, as did some of the others.

"He... he does not," the priest admitted, "The last of us he spoke to was my mother."

"So with what confidence do you judge me?" Aaron asked, and everyone in the room felt like a shadow was looming over them, like those words were a threat. Sequu's breathing became hard, and the moment Aaron saw this, the shadow seemed to disappear and Aaron put a hand on Sequu's to ground him. He hadn't realised how it would affect Sequu, and he felt guilty because of it.

"None," the priest admitted.

"Precisely. I expected you to put more trust into your King than this. He has known me, has met me and aided me when no other would, spoke to me the secrets that could have him killed as the war queen ruled. He has trusted me, and if you trust him there is no reason to trust who he trusts." Aaron's tone was firm, leaving no room for argument.

"See reason, we have no reason to trust you and you have given none." The priest remained persistent.

"I suppose only few witnessed it, and fewer spread it," and here his voice rose as if demanding an answer, "But who do you _think_ killed the war queen?"

He spoke this with a tone that frightened the priest, and Sequu. Aaron did not let go of Sequu's hand, squeezing it in reassurance as he glared at the priest.

"I had assumed-"

"You do not know, Silon," Sequu's voice was tiny compared to Aaron's, but it struck the priest deeply, not because there was anger in Sequu's voice, but disappointment.

"No, Your Majesty, I do not," the priest admitted.

"You were not there, you didn't witness it," Sequu spoke, the hand Aaron held was trembling and in a tight fist. "He killed the war queen. It was not I, how could I kill anyone? It was not one of the guards, nor the knights, no. It was him, and it is because of him that I sit here, as your king, as the ruler of this kingdom, with all the honours and burdens that come with it. Do you think, Silon, I would not remember or recognise him by voice alone?" His voice was trembling as well, overwhelmed by some strange emotion and Priest Silon silenced himself.

Sequu looked at Aaron, his expression asking _Was I too harsh?_ Aaron smiled and squeezed his hand in reassurance, and Sequu sighed in relief. A moment of silence passed before the priest who worships the goddess of beauty and a female scholar stood up with a smile.

"I shall help spread the faith speedily, Sire."/"You may trust I will aide in spreading the faith, your Majesty." They spoke at the same time, a chuckle coming over their lips afterwards.

"I'm glad for your support." Sequu now wore a smile, and the priest and the scholar smiled, like children who had made their parents happy with something they did, and Aaron found it endearing. Soon, all the other priests, priestesses and scholars declared they would aide in spreading the faith, and the relief that found itself spreading on Sequu's face spread through the entire room and turned into something akin to happiness.

Aaron felt incredibly happy that he had chosen Sequu for this. Sequu inspired such trust and devotion in his subjects and inspired them to do what pleased him of their own free will. It was rather inspiring to see, Aaron thought. And this seemed to be running so smoothly. He had been a moment away from revealing his face to convince them, but he didn't have to, and he was glad for it, so very glad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaron is part of politics oh deary dear


End file.
